Should a candidate who fomented an attack on the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn the result of an election be allowed to appear on Minnesota's 2024 presidential ballot?
Mike Thompson: Should Trump be kept off the 2024 ballot in Minnesota?
A lawsuit makes the constitutional argument for it.
September 13, 2023 at 10:45PM
The answer is "no," according to a national organization called Free Speech for People, which filed a petition this week to bar Donald Trump's name from the 2024 ballot in the state on behalf of a group of prominent Minnesotans, the Star Tribune reported.
A post-Civil War era clause in the U.S. Constitution stipulates that former public officials cannot run for federal office if they have "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the government, or assisted those who engaged in such activity. A key point in interpretation of the clause is that you don't have to be convicted of engaging in or giving aid and comfort to a rebellion in order to be prohibited from seeking federal office, per the Star Tribune story.
It's pretty clear that Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021, meet the standard for disqualification spelled out in the Constitution. Tell me what you think in the comment section.
The Oct. 7 attacks were nearly a year ago. In the time since, neighbors have comforted us but much else has led to a pervasive fear.
