On Tuesday night, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump is disqualified from the 2024 Republican primary ballot due to his role in the events on January 6 at the US Capitol, citing the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. The amendment restricts people who are engaged in insurrection from holding public office.
"I believe those conclusions are very flawed," Sievert said on Wednesday. "I also think there is serious debate as to whether what happened on Jan 6th was an 'insurrection' as that word was meant in the Constitution-it was written after a civil war against the Federal Government- as opposed to a big riot," he added.
The ex-prosecutor stated that he would not expect politically balanced higher courts to uphold this decision.
Siever explained that the Colorado Supreme Court's opinion concluded that Trump intended a violent attack on the capitol while ignoring that the former US president said "march peacefully and patriotically." The court also ignored that the day before the January 6 riot, Trump offered to have the National Guard available, which would not be something to consider had he wanted a violent attack on the US Capitol, Sievert said.
The Trump campaign described the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling as being a "completely flawed decision" and said they will appeal.