Trump disqualified from 2024 ballot in Colorado

WASHINGTON (Reuters) Former US president Donald Trump is disqualified from serving as US president and cannot appear on the primary ballot in Colorado because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters, the state’s top court ruled on Tuesday.

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The historic 4-3 ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court, likely to be taken up by the US Supreme Court, makes Trump the first presidential candidate deemed ineligible for the White House under a rarely used constitutional provision that bars officials who have engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" from holding office.

The ruling applies only to Colorado's March 5 Republican primary, but it could affect Trump's status in the state for the Nov. 5 general election. Non-partisan US election forecasters Trump view Colorado as safely democratic, meaning that President Joe Biden will likely carry the state regardless of Trump's fate there.

Trump vowed to appeal the ruling to the US Supreme Court, and the Colorado court said it would delay the effect of its decision until at least Jan. 4, 2024 to allow for an appeal.