Maine has disqualified Donald Trump from the state ballot in the 2024 United States presidential primary election, becoming the second state to bar the former president for his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
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Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, concluded that Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, incited an insurrection when he spread false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election and then urged his supporters to march on the Capitol to stop lawmakers from certifying the vote.
"The US Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government," Bellows wrote in a 34-page ruling.
The decision can be appealed to a state Superior Court, and Bellows suspended her ruling until the court rules on the matter.
Trump's campaign said it would quickly file an objection to the "atrocious" decision.
Lawyers for Trump have disputed that he engaged in insurrection and argued that his remarks to supporters on the day of the 2021 riot were protected by his right to free speech.
The decision came after a group of former Maine lawmakers said Trump should be disqualified based on a provision of the US Constitution that bars people from holding office if they engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" after previously swearing an oath to the US.
The former lawmakers - Kimberley Rosen, Thomas Saviello and Ethan Strimling - said in a statement that Bellows "stood on the side of democracy and our constitution in her decision to bar former president Donald Trump from Maine's ballot".
Rosen and Saviello are both former Republican state senators.
Strimling is a former Democratic state senator.
The ruling applies only to Maine's March primary election, but it could affect Trump's status for the November general election.
The ruling likely will add to pressure on the US Supreme Court to resolve questions about Trump's eligibility nationwide under the constitutional provision known as Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
The court's 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices nominated by Trump.
Trump has been indicted in both a federal case and in Georgia for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election, but he has not been charged with insurrection related to the January 6 attack.
Colorado's top court disqualified Trump from the state primary ballot on December 19, making him the first candidate in US history to be deemed ineligible for the presidency for engaging in insurrection.
Trump has vowed to appeal the Colorado ruling to the Supreme Court and criticised ballot challenges as "undemocratic".
The Colorado Republican Party filed its own Supreme Court appeal on Wednesday.
Similar attempts to disqualify Trump in other states have been rejected.
Maine is rated as likely Democratic by non-partisan election forecasters, meaning President Joe Biden is expected to win the state.
But Trump captured one electoral vote from Maine in both the 2016 and 2020 elections due to an unusual set-up that allows the state to split its four Electoral College votes.
Candidates must win 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency.
Unlike other states, Bellows, who oversees elections in Maine, was required to make an initial determination about disqualification before it was considered by the courts.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber on Thursday included Trump on the certified list of candidates for its March 5 primary election, indicating it was up to courts to resolve any ballot challenges.
Australian Associated Press
