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Colorado's Supreme Court has declared that Donald Trump is ineligible to run for president in the state next year, citing a constitutional insurrection clause.

The court's 4-3 decision, a first-time application of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, disrupts the White House race and has put on hold pending appeal until next month.

Notably, this ruling only affects Colorado, and attempts to remove Trump from other states' ballots have previously failed. The court emphasized the weight of its decision, highlighting the solemn duty to apply the law impartially, irrespective of public reactions.

The decision contradicts a prior ruling by a Colorado judge, who argued that the insurrection ban in the 14th Amendment didn't explicitly pertain to presidents.

The lower court judge also asserted Trump's involvement in the Capitol riot insurrection. The Colorado Supreme Court's ruling takes effect no earlier than January 4, 2024, on the eve of the state's deadline for printing presidential primary ballots.

The Trump campaign denounced the decision as "completely flawed" and criticized the justices, all appointed by Democratic governors.

"Democrat Party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the growing, dominant lead President Trump has amassed in the polls," Mr Cheung said.

"They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to stop the American voters from throwing them out of office next November."

Mr Cheung added that Mr Trump's legal team would "swiftly file an appeal" to the US Supreme Court.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), the group that brought the case, welcomed the ruling.

"It is not only historic and justified, but is necessary to protect the future of democracy in our country," the group's president, Noah Bookbinder, said in a statement.

Similar lawsuits in New Hampshire, Minnesota and Michigan have failed.

The 14th Amendment was ratified after the American Civil War. Its Section 3 was intended to block secessionists from returning to previous government roles once southern states re-joined the Union.

It was used against Confederate president Jefferson Davis and his vice-president Alexander Stephens, both of whom had served in Congress. It has seldom been invoked since.

Mr Trump lost the state of Colorado by a wide margin in the last presidential election. But if courts in more competitive states followed suit on Tuesday's ruling, Mr Trump's White House bid could face serious problems.

During a one-week trial in Colorado last month, the former president's lawyers argued he should not be disqualified because he did not bear responsibility for the US Capitol riot.

But in its Tuesday ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court majority disagreed.

They said Mr Trump's messages before the riot were "a call to his supporters to fight and… his supporters responded to that call".

Carlos Samour, one of three justices who dissented, argued the government could not "deprive someone of the right to hold public office without due process of law".

"Even if we are convinced that a candidate committed horrible acts in the past - dare I say, engaged in insurrection - there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office," he wrote.

Republican lawmakers also lambasted the decision, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who called it "a thinly veiled partisan attack".

"Regardless of political affiliation, every citizen registered to vote should not be denied the right to support our former president and the individual who is the leader in every poll of the Republican primary," he said.

Mr Trump is facing four criminal cases, including one federal and one state case in Georgia related to his election subversion efforts.

Hmmm what ... This is where no body is truly above the law

It is well

Nice one

Gud one