Trump faces new 14th Amendment challenge in Massachusetts

by Nick Robertson - 01/05/24 10:45 AM ET

A group of voters, including the former mayor of Boston, filed a challenge to former President Trump’s ballot qualifications in Massachusetts on Friday, claiming he should be barred from the ballot due to the 14th Amendment.

Free Speech for People, the same organization that pushed for 14th Amendment challenges in Minnesota, Michigan, Oregon, and Illinois, organized the Massachusetts complaint.

The challenge makes the same argument as attempts in Colorado and Maine, which have knocked Trump off those states’ primary ballots pending legal appeals. The complaint claims Trump’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riots fall under the 14th Amendment “insurrection clause,” banning those who assist insurrection against the country from holding office.

“Donald Trump violated his oath of office and incited a violent insurrection that attacked the U.S. Capitol, threatened the assassination of the Vice President and congressional leaders, and disrupted the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation’s history,” said Ron Fein, Free Speech for People legal director, in a statement.

“Our predecessors understood that oath-breaking insurrectionists will do it again, and worse, if allowed back into power, so they enacted the Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause to protect the republic from people like Trump,” he continued. “Trump is legally barred from the ballot and election officials must follow this constitutional mandate.”

The Massachusetts complaint is signed by five voters, including two top law school professors — from Boston College and Harvard University — as well as former Boston Mayor Kim Janey (D).

The challenge cites the Colorado and Maine removals and demands that Secretary of State William Galvin (D) also remove Trump from the state’s primary ballot.

Free Speech for People’s previous 14th Amendment complaints in Michigan and Minnesota were thrown out on procedural grounds. Challenges in Oregon and Illinois are still under review.

One of the challenges is likely to be heard by the Supreme Court, setting up a legal battle that could turn the entire 2024 presidential election.