A judge in Illinois, United States, on Wednesday banned Donald Trump from appearing on the state's Republican presidential primary ballot due to his role in the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter sided with Illinois voters who argued that the former president should be disqualified from the state's March 19 primary election and the Nov. 5 general election by violate the anti-insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, according to CBS News.
However, Porter delayed his ruling due to an expected appeal by Trump.
The outcome of the Illinois case and similar challenges is expected to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard arguments related to Trump's election eligibility on Feb. 8.
Porter said he was suspending his decision pending his appeal to the Illinois appeals courts and a possible ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The advocacy group Free Speech For People, which led the Illinois disqualification effort, issued a statement praising the ruling as a “historic victory.”
A campaign spokesman for the 77-year-old national candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination stated that this is “an unconstitutional ruling that we will quickly appeal.”
Previously, Colorado and Maine removed Trump from their state ballots after determining that he is disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
Both decisions are on hold while Trump appeals.
Section 3 excludes from public office anyone who has sworn to support the Constitution of the United States and then has “engaged in an insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to its enemies.”
The Supreme Court is considering Trump's challenge to his disqualification in Colorado, and justices in Washington expressed skepticism about states taking sweeping steps that could affect national elections.
