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Independent presidential candidate Cornel West issued a warning about the Colorado Supreme Court ruling that removes former President Donald Trump from the 2024 Republican primary ballot.
The 4-3 ruling determined that Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination, is ineligible to appear on the state's ballot over his alleged role in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Critics allege that his speech culminated in the violent protest in which his supporters illegally entered the Capitol in an attempt to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.
The court ruled Tuesday that his actions violated Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, barring any individual from holding federal or state office who has "engaged in insurrection."
West, who is running as a progressive alternative to President Joe Biden, expressed concerns about the ruling in a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday evening.
He wrote that while Trump is a "bonafide gangster and neofascist," American voters, rather than courts, should determine the outcome of elections.
"We must be very careful in celebrating this decision by the CO Supreme Court. It's true that brother Trump is a bonafide gangster and neofascist who must be held accountable. At the same time, we don't want the courts deciding the outcome of elections - this power must reside with and for the people," West wrote.
He warned that the Democratic Party should "not rely on the courts as a mechanism to circumvent Brother Biden's anemic poll numbers."
The Colorado lawsuit was filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) on behalf of four Republican and two independent voters.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's and West's campaigns via email for comment.
Steven Cheung, spokesperson for Trump's campaign, vowed to file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and slammed the Colorado court's decision in a statement previously reported by Newsweek.
"Unsurprisingly, the all-Democrat appointed Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump, supporting a Soros-funded, left-wing group's scheme to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden by removing President Trump's name from the ballot and eliminating the rights of Colorado voters to vote for the candidate of their choice," Cheung said in a statement.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., another independent presidential candidate challenging Biden, released a statement expressing concern about the ruling.
"Every American should be troubled by the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to remove President Trump from the ballot," he wrote on X. "The court has deprived him of a consequential right without having been convicted of a crime. This was done without an evidentiary hearing in which he is given the basic right of confronting his accusers."
Trump is facing more ballot challenges in several other states ahead of the Republican primaries next year.
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About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more