Donald Trump did engage in 'insurrection' on January 6, Colorado judge rules, but can still run for president

• A Colorado court ruled that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection but can still run for president.
• A government-ethics watchdog argued he should be banned because of a clause in the 14th Amendment.

Donald Trump is still eligible to run for president despite engaging in insurrection by inciting the January 6 Capitol riots, a Colorado judge ruled Friday.

Colorado District Court Judge Sarah B. Wallace turned down a challenge from the government-watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, which argued a clause in the 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump from holding office again.

Section 3 of the amendment bans anyone who has taken an oath to support the Constitution then "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" from serving as a senator, representative, or presidential elector without the approval of two-thirds of Congress.

Wallace found that Trump "engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021, through incitement" – but also ruled that the clause didn't apply to people running for president.

"The Court holds there is scant direct evidence regarding whether the Presidency is one of the positions subject to disqualification," she wrote.

"To lump the Presidency in with any other civil or military office is odd indeed and very troubling to the Court," Wallace wrote.

She added that "under traditional rules of statutory construction, when a list includes specific positions but then fails to include others, courts assume the exclusion was intentional."

Friday's ruling marks the third time this month that liberal groups have failed to use the 14th Amendment to prevent Trump from running for president in 2024.

Last week, Minnesota's Supreme Court ruled that Trump was still eligible to appear on primary ballots, dismissing a lawsuit from Free Speech for People, a liberal group representing Minnesota voters in the case. It left the possibility he could be disqualified from the general election in 2024 open.

On Tuesday, a Michigan judge ruled against Free Speech for People's claim that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment meant Trump would be ineligible to appear on primary ballots in the state. Free Speech for People said Thursday that it would appeal the decision.

The Trump campaign celebrated Friday's decision.

"We applaud today's ruling in Colorado, which is another nail in the coffin of the un-American ballot challenges," Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said in a statement.