The top election official of the Maine state has declared former US president Donald Trump ineligible for the state elections, removing him from the 2024 primary ballot over his involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Maine becomes the second state to disqualify Trump from office, after the Colorado Supreme Court removed the former president from the ballot earlier this month, reported CNN.
The development is a significant victory for Trump’s critics, who, citing the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, say they’re trying to enforce a constitutional provision that was designed to protect the country from anti-democratic insurrectionists.
Maine´s top election official, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, said in her ruling that the events of January 6, 2021 “occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing President.”
“The US Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government and (Maine law) requires me to act in response,” read the ruling, which came in response to challenges filed by a handful of Maine voters.— Agencies
