Former President Donald Trump sued Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Monday to prevent her from keeping him off the state’s 2024 election ballot.
The lawsuit, filed in the Michigan Court of Claims, asks the court to issue an injunction barring Benson from removing him from the ballot and to find that she lacks the authority to decide whether or not he is qualified. Michigan is one of many states where a lawsuit has been filed to remove Trump from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars officials who took an oath to the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.
Trump’s speech on and leading up to Jan. 6 was intended “to inspire a protest to contest an election outcome,” which is not “insurrectionary or unlawful in any way,” the lawsuit states.
“Even if the events of January 6, 2021, could constitute an ‘insurrection’ (they do not), President Trump did not ‘engage’ in it,” his lawyers wrote. “‘Engaging’ requires some level of active participation. Inaction is not sufficient.”
Benson affirmed in a September op-ed for The Washington Post that she would not seek to remove Trump.
“Whether Trump is eligible to run for president again is a decision not for secretaries of state but for the courts,” she wrote.
Trump’s campaign sent Benson a letter in August requesting confirmation that Trump would be included on her list of 2024 candidates. Benson’s failure to respond to the letter is “creating uncertainty,” according to the lawsuit.
A trial to consider removing Trump from Colorado’s 2024 ballot began Monday.
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