Boma Achenimie 
The United States of America (USA) Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favour of former President Donald Trump and restored his name to the 2024 presidential primary ballots by rejecting attempts by multiple states to hold him responsible for the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
The court ruling came to the fore on the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries, which are anticipated to solidify Trump’s lead in the race for the Republican nomination against President Joe Biden in the upcoming November elections.
This Court decision marks the most significant election-related case the court has addressed since the controversial halt of the Florida vote recount in the 2000 presidential election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore.
The central issue considered by the nine justices was whether Trump’s alleged involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot by his supporters rendered him ineligible for the Republican presidential primary ballot in Colorado.
In a decisive 9-0 vote, the court, which leans conservative, determined that the judgment by the Colorado Supreme Court to disqualify Trump based on these grounds “cannot stand,” thus ensuring the 77-year-old front runner’s placement on the state’s primary ballot.
READ ALSO:
- Donald Trump To Pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3m
- Donald Trump Loses Bid For Mistrial In Civil Fraud Case
- Donald Trump’s Daughter To Testify In Father’s Fraud Trial
This case originated from a December ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court, which, invoking the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, sought to disqualify Trump from the ballot due to his purported role in the Capitol attack.
The attack was an attempt by a mob to stop the certification of Biden’s 2020 election win.
Specifically, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment prohibits anyone who has engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution from holding public office.
However, during the two-hour arguments last month, both conservative and liberal justices of the US Supreme Court expressed reservations about allowing individual states to determine the eligibility of presidential candidates for the November ballot.
On Monday, the top court ruled that “responsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States.”
