After Colorado, it is the second state to expel the ex-president because of his role in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump’s campaign team announced that they would quickly appeal against the decision.
Maine’s elections secretary, Democrat Shenna Bellows, concluded that Trump incited an insurrection when he spread false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election and then urged his supporters to march on the Capitol to protest to prevent confirmation of the election results. Bellows stayed her decision until the state Supreme Court rules on the matter.
The decision came after a group of former Maine lawmakers said Trump should be disqualified because the U.S. Constitution prohibits people from holding office if they have engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” after previously swore an oath to the United States.
The ruling, which can be appealed in state court, applies only to the March primary election. But it could affect Trump’s status in the November general election. Trump is clearly leading in polls in the race for the Republican nomination.
On December 19, the Colorado Supreme Court barred Trump from the primaries, making him the first candidate in U.S. history to be deemed ineligible for the presidency because of insurrection. Trump has said he will appeal the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling. The Colorado Republican Party filed its own appeal to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Similar attempts to disqualify Trump in other states were rebuffed. The Supreme Court in Michigan, a crucial state in the general election, declined to hear a challenge to Trump’s eligibility as recently as Wednesday.
