Colorado court bars Trump from state ballot

The news: Former US president Donald Trump could be barred from the Colorado ballot for next year's presidential election because of his role in the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, the state's highest court has ruled.

The numbers: The 4-3 ruling is the first time in the history a post-civil war constitutional provision preventing insurrectionists from holding office has been enacted, Reuters reports. The ruling only applies to Colorado's Republican primary on 5 March next year, but it could alter Trump's status for the presidential election in November. Trump vowed to appeal the case in the US Supreme Court, which comprises a 6:3 conservative majority of justices, including three appointed by Trump during his term as president.

The context: Colorado is considered a safe Democrat state, which Biden would likely win regardless of the outcome of any Supreme Court decision.

What they said: "We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us," the majority justices in Colorado wrote. "We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favour, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach."