(The Hill) — Maine’s Secretary of State on Thursday said former President Trump was ineligible to be on the state’s primary ballot under the 14th Amendment, becoming the second state to do so.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, said she had concluded that Trump “over the course of several months and culminating on January 6, 2021, used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol to prevent certification of the 2020 election and the peaceful transfer of power.”
She also concluded that Trump “was aware of the likelihood for violence and at least initially supported its use given he both encouraged it with incendiary rhetoric and took no timely action to stop it.
“Mr. Trump’s occasional requests that rioters be peaceful and support law enforcement do not immunize his actions,” she said. A brief call to obey the law does not erase conduct over the course of months, culminating in his speech on the Ellipse. The weight of the evidence makes clear that Mr. Trump was aware of the tinder laid by his multi-month effort to delegitimize a democratic election, and then chose to light a match.”
“I do not reach this conclusion lightly. Democracy is sacred… I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,” she wrote.
“I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection. The oath I swore to uphold the Constitution comes first above all, and my duty under Maine’s election laws, when presented with a Section 336 challenge, is to ensure that candidates who appear on the primary ballot are qualified for the office they seek.
“The events of January 6, 2021 were unprecedented and tragic. They were an attack not only upon the Capitol and government officials, but also an attack on the rule of law. The evidence here demonstrates that they occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing President. The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government, and Section 336 requires me to act in response.”
Trump is certain to appeal the decision, and it increasingly looks like the issue will have to be taken up by the Supreme Court.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump should be barred from its primary ballot last week. An appeal to that case is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court.
Attorneys for Trump previously demanded that Bellows recuse herself from the decision over whether Trump should be placed on the ballot.
