The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Thursday in the historic efforts to disqualify former President Donald Trump from office because of his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
The case revolves around the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban,” a relic of the Civil War that hasn’t been touched in more than a century until the Trump-fueled attack on the US Capitol.
Here’s what you need to know for the high-stakes hearing:
The 14th Amendment says Americans who take an oath to uphold the Constitution but then “engaged in insurrection” are disqualified from holding future public office.
The amendment’s key provision, Section 3, says in part: “No person shall … hold any office … under the United States … who, having previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
However, the Constitution does not spell out how to enforce the ban. And there is an open legal debate over how some of the terms in the vague provision should be defined. For instance, the amendment doesn’t explain what level of political violence is tantamount to “insurrection.”
The ban was applied against tens of thousands of former Confederates in the 19th Century. The provision hasn’t been touched since 1919.
A liberal-leaning watchdog group called CREW filed the lawsuit in September in Colorado state court. They filed the case on behalf of a group of Republican and independent voters, led by 91-year-old Norma Anderson, trailblazing GOP state legislator.
They sued Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and sought a court order that would force Griswold to remove…
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