Judge rules former President Donald Trump is eligible for Colorado's primary ballot

A Denver District Court judge has issued a ruling that former President Donald Trump can appear on the Colorado primary ballot. The decision came down just before 5 p.m. Friday. At issue was whether he was barred from the ballot by a provision of the U.S. Constitution that forbids those who "engaged in insurrection" from holding office.

Advocates this year have been trying to remove Trump from the ballot in Colorado and other states under Section Three of the 14th Amendment, which bars from office those who swore an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and then "engaged in insurrection" against it. The measure has only been used a handful of times since the period after the Civil War.

Closing arguments in the lawsuit, which was filed by the left-leaning group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, wrapped up on Wednesday. Sean Grimsley, an attorney for the petitioners, argued that Trump engaged in an insurrection by inciting a violent mob to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to try to stop the peaceful transfer of power. He says that makes him ineligible to hold office under the 14th Amendment. Trump attorney Scott Gessler says there's no evidence that Trump intended to incite violence and violence, he says, doesn't equal an insurrection.