Judge Wallace also said she did not have an opinion on whether the Jan. 6 attack constituted an insurrection, if Trump was engaged in insurrection or other matters at hand.
She is overseeing a trial that’s expected to unfold over five days. There is no jury, leaving the decision on Trump’s ballot eligibility in Colorado up to the judge. She expects to issue a ruling by the end of November.
The case is unlikely to end there and could land in the state or federal Supreme Court.
The plaintiffs include Norma Anderson, a former Republican majority leader in the state House and Senate; Denver Post columnist Krista Kafer; and Chris Castilian, who served as deputy chief of staff under former Gov. Bill Owens. The lawsuit seeks to compel Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to bar Trump from the Republican primary election and, if he wins the Republican nomination, from the state’s general election ballot.
On Monday, the plaintiffs’ attorneys sought to demonstrate a pattern of Trump using violent rhetoric and cheering along violence against political opponents. They alleged that he used his Twitter account to draw a crowd to the Capitol on Jan. 6.
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Gessler called it a political document, “poisoned” by foregone conclusions and made for prime-time TV — not suitable as evidence in court. Trump’s legal team denies any ties to the siege and has asserted that he was exercising his right to free speech when protesting the election and calling for a political pressure campaign. They cast the legal challenge as partisan “lawfare” and an attack on democracy.
“We’re here with a courtroom behind us because they’re trying to put up their ‘steal’ curtain around Colorado,” Jason Miller, a senior adviser with the Trump campaign, said ahead of the trial’s start. “And when I say ‘steal’ curtain, that’s S-T-E-A-L. Democrats are trying to steal this race.”
Trump’s campaign characterized the ballot challenge as being among a series of legal cases that amount to election interference heading into 2024. Trump also faces federal criminal charges and state criminal charges in Georgia related to alleged 2020 election interference, as well as a civil fraud trial in New York.
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