Colorado court blocks Trump from presidential primary ballot

Former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump gestures at the end of a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa, on December 19, 2023. An appeals court in Colorado on December 19.//AFP

Los Angeles, United States – Donald Trump is ineligible for the US presidency because of his involvement in the January 2021 assault on the Capitol, Colorado’s supreme court ruled Tuesday, setting off a political earthquake that could upend next year’s election.

The stunning legal decision — which Trump’s campaign said it would appeal — drew immediate condemnation from Republicans across the spectrum, and looked set to light a fire under the former reality TV star’s claim to political persecution.

The ruling, which only applies to the Colorado primary ballot, is the first of a number of legal actions across the country to successfully invoke the US Constitution’s 14th…