TO: Secretaries of State, state election officials, and members of congress
A federal grand jury has just indicted Trump for his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. This is an essential step toward holding him accountable for inciting a deadly, white supremacist-led insurrection on January 6, 2021 and attempting to overthrow the government to remain in power, but this is not over yet.
The Constitution’s 14th Amendment provides for the disqualification from office of any person who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the United States. That includes Donald Trump. As a result, he does not meet the qualifications to become president again.
Election officials in every state must respect the Constitution and reject Trump from their ballots. And Congress can help clarify that by passing legislation to bar Trump from office under the Fourteenth amendment.
Why is this important?
Donald Trump and his associates planned, promoted, and paid for a criminal conspiracy that became the January 6 insurrection.
According to the U.S. Constitution, that disqualifies him from ever holding office again. Section three of the Fourteenth Amendment, the “insurrection clause,” makes clear that anyone who engaged in attempting to violently overthrow the US government after swearing an oath to protect it is barred from being given that responsibility again.
In 2022, a New Mexico county commissioner who was at the January 6 insurrection was kicked out of office when a state court ruled that the insurrection clause barred him from office. And other courts upheld that the insurrection clause was relevant to members of congress, including MAGA Republican Madison Cawthorn, who spoke at Trump’s rally on January 6. It applies just as well to people seeking the Oval Office.
We need to fight back even harder to hold Trump accountable for his actions to damage our democracy—actions that continue today and are focused on laying the groundwork for his next coup to place him in the White House in 2024 no matter the will of the voters. State elections officials already have the authority and responsibility to bar him from the ballot. And Congress can back them up by passing legislation barring Trump from office under the Fourteenth amendment.
Will you sign the petition today to join the fight to disqualify Trump from holding public office and help disrupt plans by Trump and his allies for his next coup in 2024?
Sources:
1. “The Jan. 6 Hearings Are Over. These 3 Things Must Happen Now.”, The New York Times, October 14, 2022
2. “How the 14th Amendment Could Disqualify Trump and His Allies,“ Democracy Docket, June 6, 2022
How the 14th Amendment Could Disqualify Trump and His Allies
3. “New Mexico removes, bars Couy Griffin from public office,” KRQE News, September 6, 2022
https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/new-mexico-judge-removes-bars-couy-griffin-from-elected-office/
