Michigan judge says Trump stays on primary ballot, rejecting challenge under insurrection clause

By COREY WILLIAMS and NICHOLAS RICCARDI
Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan judge has ruled that former President Donald Trump will remain on the state’s primary ballot. Court of Claims Judge James Robert Redford said in an order released Tuesday that Trump has followed state procedure to qualify for the ballot and that a clause in the Constitution can’t be used to disqualify him. Activists had sued to force Michigan’s secretary of state to bar Trump from the ballot. They pointed to a section of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment that prohibits a person from running for federal office if they have engaged in insurrection. Liberal groups have filed similar lawsuits in other states, portraying Trump as inciting the violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.