MN Supreme Court Rejects Petition To Ban Trump From 2024 Ballot

ST. PAUL, MN — The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a plaintiff's case to ban former President Donald Trump from appearing on the state's 2024 ballot.

A petition filed by Free Speech for People and others argued that the U.S. Constitution bars Trump from the ballot because of his actions supporting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The provision the petitions cite is in Section Three of Article 14 of the Constitution. The language, which was adopted after the Civil War, states the following:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, 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.

The Trump-backed insurrection "held the Capitol for hours until reinforcements could arrive; and blocked the peaceful transition of power in the United States of America," which was a "feat "never achieved by the Confederate rebellion," the argument states.

However, the court ruled that "because there is no error to correct here as to the presidential nomination primary, and petitioners’ other claims regarding the general election are not ripe, the petition must be dismissed, but without prejudice as to petitioners bringing a petition raising their claims to the general election."

Read the court's opinion below: