A group of Minnesotans filed a petition with the state to keep former President Donald Trump off of the upcoming 2024 primary election. The petition was filed on the grounds that Trump violated the 14^th Amendment. Under this notion, he would hence be disqualified from running for reelection.

The 14^th Amendment says that someone who has previously held political office in the country, and with that took an oath to follow the U.S. Constitution, cannot run for office again if they are seen to have previously “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.”

Former President Trump has been seen by many to have been connected to the riots that occurred on January 6, 2021.

These riots were a right-wing attempt at overthrowing the government after President Joe Biden was elected to office. The participants in the insurrection stormed the capitol using force and violence. In a rally held before January 6^th, Trump gave a speech to his supporters encouraging them to march in Washington D.C. because they “won this election, and we own it by a landslide.” In the rest of his speech, he proceeded to say many more lines encouraging violent behavior to fight against the government to keep Trump in office. At one point, he even said “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

Trump was even impeached by the House of Representatives for his involvement in the insurrection but was acquitted by the Senate.

The group leading the petition is known as Free Speech for the People. In their petition, they wrote out explanations and provided evidence to point to Trump’s support and participation in the rebellious riots. They called upon the Minnesota Supreme Court to take judicial action to keep Trump off the ballot in the upcoming primary and for the general election.

Several large Minnesota political figures signed the petition, including former Secretary of State, Joan Growe; former state Supreme Court, Justice Paul Anderson; and the former co-chair of the Steele County GOP, Dave Thul. Together, the petition does have pretty significant political support. However, it does also have a lot of people upset as well. Trump-supporting groups have begun to respond to the petition with hate and aggression. The GOP Party of Minnesota feels it is there right to still vote for who they choose to represent them on the ballot in November.