Maine's top elections official has removed former President Donald Trump from the state's 202 primary in a shocking decision based on the 1 th Amendment's "prohibition of sedition." Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows put her decision on hold pending a possible appeal in state court, which Trump's team said it plans to file. The decision makes Maine the second state to disqualify Trump from office since the Colorado Supreme Court issued its stunning decision earlier this month
removing him from the ballot. The development is a major victory for Trump's critics, who, citing the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, say he is trying to enforce a constitutional provision designed to protect the country from anti-democratic insurgents. READ: Maine Secretary of State Removes Trump from 202 Primary Bellows, a Democrat, made the decision Thursday after presiding over an administrative hearing on Trump's eligibility for office earlier this month. A bipartisan group of former
state lawmakers sued Trump. "I do not come to this conclusion lightly," Bellows wrote. "Democracy is sacred. . . . I am aware that no secretary of state has ever denied a presidential candidate access to the ballot pursuant to Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. However, I am aware that no presidential candidate has ever participated in an insurrection before. . . ." The 1 th Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, states that American officials who "engage" in rebellion cannot act in the future. However,
the provision is vague and does not say how to enforce the ban. Most legal experts believe that the US Supreme Court will decide the case across the country. But Maine's decision builds on the momentum Trump's critics have argued since the Colorado ruling. Before Colorado, several other states, including Michigan and Minnesota, rejected similar efforts. In a statement on Thursday, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung accused Bellows of being a "virulent leftist" now determined to meddle in the presidential election. "Democrats in blue states are recklessly and unconstitutionally blocking the
civil rights of American voters in an attempt to remove President Trump's name from the ballot," Cheung said. In his ruling, Bellows said he had a legal obligation to uphold the 1 th Amendment's sedition ban and remove Trump from the primaries. "The oath I took to uphold the Constitution is paramount, and under Maine election laws, it is my responsibility to ensure that candidates on the primary ballot are qualified for the office they are running for," he said. Explaining his reasoning, Bellows wrote that the challengers presented compelling evidence that the Jan. 6 riot "occurred" at Trump's behest — and that the U.S. Constitution "does not authorize an attack on the foundations of our government." "The record shows that for several months culminating on January 6, 2021, Mr. Trump used a false narrative of voter fraud to galvanize his supporters and drive them to the Capitol to block the approval of the 2020 election and a peaceful transition from power," Bellows wrote. I also conclude that Mr. Trump was aware of the likelihood of violence and, at least initially, supported its use because
he thus fueled it with inflammatory rhetoric and did not take timely steps to stop it. The decision was suspended pending an appeal Bellows said his decision Thursday will be delayed pending a ruling from the Maine Supreme Court — the lower court. It's not the state's highest court, but it's the next level where Trump or others can appeal. Maine law requires the Supreme Court to make a decision within 20 days of Thursday, January 17. Appellate rules and Bellows' decision to end his rule mean state courts are likely to review Trump's eligibility quickly, in January, before ballots go to voters. In his decision, Bellows relied on a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that had also been stayed pending appeal. "Exercising state authority to vote out ineligible candidates requires the state to establish a process by which it does so," he wrote, citing the Colorado decision. The secretary of state noted that Colorado's decision has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but said a potential reversal of the nation's highest court's decision "does not absolve me of my responsibility to act." CNN's John Berman pressed
Bellows Thursday night on whether he wants the Supreme Court to have the final say on his decision. The secretary avoided answering his questions directly, saying that the country's highest court would probably ultimately rule on the matter and he would follow its decision. "I think it's very important that we all have a role to play," he said on "Anderson Cooper 360." "And I really believe that the Supreme Court of the United States is the final interpreter of the third paragraph of the 1 th Amendment. So yes, I think ideally they will rule, but they haven't yet, but if they do, we will . . . follow their decision." Maine's secretary of state says Jan. 6 was a riot In his ruling, Bellows said he had "little difficulty" in
concluding that the U.S. Capitol riot met the definition of sedition and that Trump intended to "incite illegal acts" to stop the transition. On that day, Bellows wrote, "a large and angry crowd" entered the Capitol and "attacked the Metropolitan Police charged with its defense, vandalized and stole property, and looted the offices." He added that members of the mafia "organized behind a common goal" to "avoid the strong confirmation of the results of the 2020 presidential election, which was scheduled to take place that afternoon in the halls of Congress." Echoing the Colorado Supreme Court's position, Bellows said Trump is spreading lies about election fraud "to rouse his supporters and drive them to the Capitol to prevent ... a peaceful transfer of power." “The weight of the evidence makes it clear that Mr. Trump was aware of the obscurity created by his month-long effort to delegitimize democratic elections and then chose.
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