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Republicans Against Trump uses 'insurrection' accusation against him, but Internet argues 'saying it is not the same as being charged with it'

Republicans Against Trump faced backlash for accusing the ex-POTUS of taking part in the Capitol insurrection following the Colorado ruling

DENVER, COLORADO: In a significant decision, Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace ruled on Friday, November 17, that former President Donald Trump "engaged in an insurrection" during the events of January 6, 2021.

However, the attempt to remove Trump from Colorado's 2024 primary ballot was rejected, as Judge Wallace determined that the 14th Amendment's "insurrectionist ban" does not apply to presidents.

The ruling follows similar challenges in Minnesota and Michigan, all backed by well-funded advocacy groups. As of now, none have succeeded in removing the former president from any state's Republican primary ballot for the 2024 election.

Condemnation of Donald Trump's alleged connection to Capitol insurrection

While rejecting the removal from the ballot, the 102-page decision strongly condemned Donald Trump's conduct, accusing him of being an "insurrectionist" who "actively primed the anger of his extremist supporters" and "acted with the specific intent to incite political violence and direct it at the Capitol."

Judge Wallace's ruling explicitly stated, "Trump engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021, through incitement, and that the First Amendment does not protect Trump’s speech" at the Ellipse that day.

She further noted that the former POTUS "acted with the specific intent to disrupt the Electoral College certification of President Biden’s electoral victory through unlawful means."

Notably, the 14th Amendment, enacted after the Civil War, prohibits officials who engaged in insurrection from holding future office. However, the Amendment's application to presidents is a point of contention.

Wallace ruled that the term "officers of the United States" does not include the President.

Republicans Against Trump, an anti-Trump coalition, shared a clip from a CNN segment discussing the ruling, highlighting that the judge stated in "pretty plain English that Donald Trump engaged in an insurrection."

Donald Trump's supporters back ex-POTUS 

After Republicans Against Trump shared the post, supporters of the former president pushed back, noting that he is yet to be charged with insurrection and therefore cannot be found guilty or removed from the Colorado ballot under the 14th Amendment.

One said, "The judge can express whatever opinion she wants. That has no standing in law, as Trump is not on trial there," while another noted, "He can say what he wants, nobody has been charged with insurrection."

A person stated, "Trump was not charged with insurrection and thus, cannot be found guilty of insurrection, and cannot be removed from the ballot under the 14th Amendment," as a disgruntled follower added, "More propaganda."

"And then said trump will remain on ballot," pointed out someone else. 

Donald Trump's campaign calls ballot challenges 'absurd conspiracy theory' 

Legal scholars anticipate that the ballot challenges against Donald Trump may eventually reach the Supreme Court. Before that, the GOP and independent voters who filed the Colorado lawsuit could potentially file an appeal related to the case.

The former president's campaign dismissed the lawsuits as meritless attempts to deploy an "absurd conspiracy theory" to block his candidacy, highlighting his strong standing in the GOP primary and favorable polls against President Joe Biden, as reported by CNN.