A liberal group filed a lawsuit Tuesday to block former President Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot in Minnesota, the second major lawsuit in two weeks that hopes to invoke the 14th Amendmentās arcane āinsurrectionist ban.ā
The cases are seen as legal long shots. Trump denies wrongdoing and has vowed to fight to remain on the presidential ballot. The new Minnesota lawsuit was filed in state court by Free Speech For People, one week after another group initiated a similar challenge in Colorado.
A post-Civil War provision of the 14th Amendment says any American official who takes an oath to uphold the US Constitution is disqualified from holding future office if they āengaged in insurrection or rebellionā or have āgiven aid or comfortā to insurrectionists.
However, the Constitution doesnāt spell out how to enforce this ban, and it has been applied only twice since the late 1800s, when it was used against former Confederates.
Dismissal looks like it was in Florida:
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/trump/2023/08/31/judge-dismisses-14th-amendment-lawsuit-against-trump-on-florida-ballot/70726059007/
"Rosenberg ruled that the plaintiffs, Boynton Beach attorney Lawrence Caplan and two others, lacked āstandingā to bring the challenge.
"āPlaintiffs lack standing to challenge Defendantās qualifications for seeking the Presidency,ā Rosenberg wrote, adding that āthe injuries allegedā from the insurrection on Capitol Hill more than two years ago āare not cognizable and not particular to them.ā
Rosenberg also added that āan individual citizen does not have standing to challenge whether another individualis qualified to hold public office.ā"
In this guys case, having Trump on the ballot if heās legit not qualified does damage his own candidacy.