Donald Trump Banned From Participating In The Election For The 2024 US Presidential Election In Maine

Donald Trump. (Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore)

JAKARTA - High-ranking Maine State Election officials have ruled that former President Donald Trump cannot run for the 2024 presidential election in the state, citing a constitutional insurgency clause.

Foreign Minister Maine Shenna Bellows said Trump was not eligible for his actions leading to riots at the Capitol Hill Building, Washington DC in 2021, as reported by the BBC December 29.

The 34-page decision stated that Trump should be removed from the preliminary elections (primary) in Maine due to the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution which prohibits anyone from holding positions "involved in rebellions or insurgencies".

In his order, Bellows, a Democratic politician, said Trump "for several months and peaked on January 6, 2021, using a false narrative about election fraud to ignite the fires of his supporters and direct them to the Capitol".

He added, "Precisely requests for rioters to be peaceful and support law enforcement not to immunize their actions".

"I can't easily draw this conclusion," Bellows wrote in his decision.

"I am aware that no Foreign Minister has ever revoked access to presidential candidate voting based on Article 3 of the Tenth Amendment," he said, adding that he was also aware of "that no presidential candidate has ever been involved in the uprising."

Meanwhile, Trump's campaign team, who previously asked Bellows to step down from the process, criticized the decision on Thursday.

Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called Bellows "a Democrat who is a supporter of (President Joe) Biden" and claimed he was involved in "election mixing".

He added that his campaign team would "immediately file a legal objection to state courts to prevent this dire decision in Maine from taking effect".

However, the decision could be appealed to the state High Court, and Bellows suspended his decision until the court ruled on the matter.

Trump's lawyers denied his client was involved in the uprising, arguing his remarks to his supporters on the day of the 2021 riots were protected by the right to freedom of expression.

If granted, Maine will join Colorado as two states that prohibit Trump from participating in the preliminary elections for the 2024 US Presidential Election.

Unlike Colorado, which is the voter of the Democratic Party, Maine is more politically competitive and would be more significant if Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican Party, lost.

Trump's candidacy for president by 2024 has faced challenges in many states, arguing that the 14th Amendment prohibits him from holding office.

The 14th amendment was ratified after the American Civil War to deter the Confederation separatist group from returning to power after the southern states rejoined the Union.

The ban in Colorado is the first example of the Constitution being used to disqualify presidential candidates.

But legal experts say Colorado's decision will be difficult to approve when it comes to the conservative US Supreme Court.

And, state courts in Michigan and Minnesota have also recently rejected attempts to block Trump from voting.

It all leads to a dispute at the Supreme Court, which will decide Trump's eligibility issues by 2024 for every US state.