Colorado secretary of state praises Maine counterpart over Trump decision

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) praised her Maine counterpart in the wake of her decision to kick former President Trump off of the state’s primary ballot under the 14th Amendment in a recent interview.

“I do think Secretary Bellows is brave and courageous,” Griswold said in an interview on MSNBC about Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D). “She is the first individual, by herself, having to make this decision.”

On Thursday, Bellows said she had concluded that the former president “over the course of several months and culminating on January 6, 2021, used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol to prevent certification of the 2020 election and the peaceful transfer of power.” Bellows’s decision made Maine the second state to take such an action after the Colorado Supreme Court last week did so via a 4-3 ruling.

“Mr. Trump’s occasional requests that rioters be peaceful and support law enforcement do not immunize his actions,” she said. “A brief call to obey the law does not erase conduct over the course of months, culminating in his speech on the Ellipse. The weight of the evidence makes clear that Mr. Trump was aware of the tinder laid by his multi-month effort to delegitimize a democratic election, and then chose to light a match.”

Bellows said on Friday that she has received threats in the wake of her decision to remove Trump from the ballot.

“I was prepared for the possibility of threats, and I really appreciate law enforcement and the people around me who have been incredibly supportive of my safety and security,” Shenna Bellows (D) said during an appearance on CNN. “My safety and security is important, so is the safety and security of everyone who works with me and we have received threatening communications.”

“Those are unacceptable,” Bellows continued.