Judge rules Trump disqualified from voting in Illinois

An Illinois judge on Wednesday barred Donald Trump from running in the Illinois Republican presidential primary for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, but she delayed the ruling in anticipation of an appeal. Entered into force by former President of the United States.

Cook County Circuit Judge Tracy Porter sided with Illinois voters who argued that the former president should cancel the state’s March 19 primary and Nov. Eligibility to vote in the general election.

The final outcome of the Illinois case and similar challenges will likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard arguments related to Trump’s voting eligibility on February 8.

Porter said she reserved her decision because she expected he would appeal to the Illinois Court of Appeals and possibly get a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.

People for Free Speech, an advocacy group that advocated for Illinois’ debarment action, hailed the ruling as a “historic victory” in a statement.

A campaign spokesman for Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, said in a statement that it was “an unconstitutional ruling that we will appeal quickly.”

Colorado and Maine earlier removed Trump from their state ballots after determining he was disqualified under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Both decisions have been stayed while Trump appeals.

Section 3 prohibits anyone from holding public office who takes an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and then “engages in insurrection or insurrection against the Constitution of the United States, or renders aid or comfort to the enemies of the Constitution of the United States.”

On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters attacked police and swarmed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump gave an incendiary speech to supporters beforehand, telling them to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell.” Over the next several hours, he failed to act on his demands that the mob stop.

The Supreme Court is currently weighing Trump’s challenge to his Colorado disqualification. Judges in Washington appeared skeptical of the decision during oral arguments in the case and expressed concern about states taking sweeping action that could impact elections nationwide.