The Supreme Court has expressed scepticism of Colorado’s decision to disqualify Donald Trump from running for presidency.
A landmark case to decide whether the former president can run in November’s election heard arguments from both sides of the case as Trump appeals the decision.
Colorado’s court ruled in December Trump was not eligible to be on the Republican primary ballot because he engaged in insurrection over the US Capitol riot.
However, Trump’s lawyers argue that the 6 January 2021 attacks were a “riot”, not an insurrection.
Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts said that if the Colorado decision is upheld, other states will also hold disqualification proceedings, adding “it will come down to just a handful of states that are going to decide the presidential election, a pretty daunting consequence.”
The case will be decided with reference to amendment 14 of the US constitution, which bans anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from competing in an election.
The legal challenge was filed on behalf of six Colorado residents, four of whom are Republicans, by watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and two law firms.
Mr Trump, who was not in court, told reporters “every one of these cases [against him] comes out of the White House, from [President Joe] Biden.”
One of them, in Georgia, where he is charged with trying to overturn the election, was “a phony hoax,” he said, adding, “I hope democracy in this country can continue.”
He also repeated his well-worn complaints about migrants, who, he said, were “coming out of jails, mental institutions, and many of them are terrorists.”
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Earlier, he told a conservative radio show host that allies of Mr Biden were trying to use the Colorado case to take him out of the presidential contest.
He said: “They want to have the Supreme Court rule or vote to take me out of the race. That would be a very terrible thing to do. It’s about the vote. It’s about our Constitution.”
