The chief electoral commissioner of the US state of Maine has declared that Donald Trump cannot stand for election in the state.
Shenna Bellows based this decision on Article 14 of the US Constitution. A similar decision was made in the state of Colorado based on the same article.
The relevant paragraph of the article stipulates that public officials "may not participate in an insurrection or rebellion against the state and may not assist enemies of the state."
Shenna Bellows noted that Trump was "not a viable candidate", arguing that he had caused the 2021 raid on Congress.
After Colorado and Maine banned Trump from running for office, eyes once again turned to the US Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court may decide whether the clause in question will apply to Trump.
After the first ban in Colorado, the former president's lawyers pointed to the Supreme Court.
In a 34-page reasoned opinion, Shenna Bellows argued that Trump "fired his supporters with false allegations" in the lead-up to the January 6, 2021 raid on Congress.
Bellows argued that Trump's speeches during this period, in which he told protesters to be "calm and peaceful," did not diminish the impact of his actions.
Underlining that she did not come to this decision easily, Bellows shared her reasoning that "no presidential candidate has ever been associated with the insurgency before".
Trump's campaign team also targeted Shenna Bellows in a swift response.
Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung described Bellows as "a hyper-partisan pro-Biden Democrat."
Spokesperson Cheung also said they would appeal to Maine state court.
The 14th Amendment was first ratified in the aftermath of the American Civil War and was implemented to prevent representatives from some southern states on the defeated side from returning to public office.
Previously, the states of New Hampshire, Minnesota and Michigan had launched legal initiatives on the same grounds, arguing that Trump should not be able to compete in the primaries in these states, but none of them had yielded any results.
The presidential elections in the US will be held on November 5, 2024.
In order for Trump to compete in the elections, he must first be elected as the presidential candidate of the Republican Party after the primaries.
