Minnesota Supreme Court Rejects Effort to Ban Trump from 2024 Primary Ballot

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an effort to block former President Donald Trump from the state's 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot, saying he had not engaged in insurrection or rebellion under the 14th Amendment.

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Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the Turning Point Action conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, US, on Saturday, July 15, 2023. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The court ruled 4-3 that Trump's actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol did not meet the legal standard for disqualification from office. The ruling clears the way for Trump to seek the Republican nomination in Minnesota, a state he won in 2016.

The lawsuit was filed by Free Speech for People, a non-profit legal organization that advocates for campaign finance reform and government accountability. The group argued that Trump's actions on Jan. 6 constituted an insurrection or rebellion under the 14th Amendment, which bars from holding office anyone who has "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the United States.

The court, however, found that Trump's actions did not meet the legal standard for "insurrection or rebellion." The court wrote that "insurrection" is defined as "a rising against constituted authority, or an act of violence against the government." The court also found that "rebellion" is defined as "an organized armed resistance against the government."

The court ruled that Trump's actions on Jan. 6 did not constitute an insurrection or rebellion because there was no evidence that he planned or organized the attack on the Capitol. The court also found that Trump's speech before the attack, in which he urged his supporters to "fight like hell" to overturn the results of the 2020 election, was protected by the First Amendment.

The ruling is a significant victory for Trump, who has repeatedly denied inciting the Jan. 6 attack. It is also a setback for Free Speech for People, which has been trying to use the 14th Amendment to disqualify Trump from holding office.

The court's ruling is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, legal experts say it is unclear whether the Supreme Court would take up the case.