In a recent Colorado court case, former President Donald Trump has been accused of inciting extremist groups to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which could potentially bar him from running in the 2024 election in the state.
What Happened: The Hill reported on Tuesday that lawyers are arguing that Trump’s several-year-long communication with extremist groups culminated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Pete Simi, a Chapman University professor and extremism expert, testified that Trump had been cultivating a far-right following even before his presidential campaign, a relationship he later utilized to challenge his 2020 election defeat.
Simi alleged that Trump’s engagement with far-right groups began with his propagation of the birtherism conspiracy theory during the 2012 election. He also pointed out Trump’s response to the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist rally, his remarks to the Proud Boys during a 2020 presidential debate, and his pre-riot address on Jan. 6. Simi contended that these were all explicit calls to violence.
During cross-examination, Simi upheld that Trump consistently relayed messages encouraging violence, forming a pattern.
"I can say he expressed a consistent pattern of messages over time that encouraged violence. He expressed messages over time that endorsed violence. And that's very, I think in clear terms, part of this pattern," said Simi, according to the report.
He argued that Trump was fully aware of this pattern. The trial will likely focus on whether Trump intentionally signaled far-right extremists to act violently or seek to violently overturn the election.
Trump and the Colorado Republican Party’s defense attorneys argued that the former president was merely exercising his free speech rights. They also asserted that the specific 14th Amendment clause has not been invoked for this purpose in over 150 years and is being misinterpreted.
Similar cases are being considered in Minnesota and Michigan, with one likely ending up before the Supreme Court, which has never ruled on the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause.”
Why It Matters: This trial is a result of a lawsuit seeking to disqualify Trump from the 2024 presidential race, leveraging Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. As reported previously, it is suggested that this lawsuit could pose a greater threat to Trump’s future political ambitions than criminal trials.
This case follows a Colorado judge’s ruling denying Trump’s fifth attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, thereby paving the way for this case.
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