Maine Bars Trump From 2024 Presidential Primary
*Insists he incited insurrection.
Maine on Thursday became the second US state to disqualify former President, Donald Trump, from contesting the 2024 Republican primary over his role in the January 6 Capitol Hill invasion.
This was disclosed by the state Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, who concluded that Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, incited an insurrection by spreading falsehood about voter fraud in the 2020 election.
She also urged his supporters to march on the Capitol in an attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying the Biden vote.
"The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government," Bellows, who suspended her ruling until the court rules on the matter, summed in a 34-page ruling.
The decision followed claims by a number of former Maine lawmakers that the former President should be disqualified on the ground that a provision of the U.S. Constitution disqualifies people from holding office if they engaged in “insurrection or rebellion”, having previously sworn to an oath to the United States.
Kimberley Rosen, Thomas Saviello and Ethan Strimling, all former Maine law makers, noted in a statement, that Bellows "stood on the side of democracy and our constitution in her decision to bar former President Donald Trump from Maine’s ballot."
Meanwhile, the former President's campaign team said it would quickly file an objection to what it described as the "atrocious" decision.
His attorneys say he was not engaged in any insurrection as claimed, arguing that his remarks were protected by his free speech rights
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