Donald Trump declared the loss within minutes of the trial beginning

Just minutes after his disqualification trial began Monday morning, a Colorado judge handed Donald Trump a defeat.

The former president is facing a lawsuit challenging his 2024 candidacy in the Centennial State over his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the plaintiff in the case, argues that Trump violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment by allegedly motivating protesters on January 6 with his election fraud claims. It prohibits any person from holding federal or state office who “has taken part in any insurrection or rebellion against it, or has given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

Trump has not been charged with insurrection and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection with Jan. 6. The former president has pleaded not guilty in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

After the trial began Monday, Judge Sarah Wallace quickly rejected an attempt by Trump’s legal team to remove her from the case, the Associated Press reported.

Trump’s lawyers had filed a motion asking Wallace to withdraw from the case for allegedly donating $100 to the Colorado Turnout Project in October 2022. The PAC’s website says it is focused on defeating Trump ally Lauren Boebert and “electing Democrats.” Colorado.”

“The Colorado Turnout Project aims to prevent violent insurrections by tackling this problem at its root – if we vote out pariahs like Rep. Boebert, we can turn CO blue once and for all,” the organization’s website says .

Wallace, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, declined to recuse herself. She said she doesn’t remember that donation and has no preconceived ideas about the issues it involves.

“I will not allow this trial to become a circus,” Wallace said at the start of the hearing, the AP reported.

Newsweek The Trump campaign emailed for comment.

Attorney Eric Olson, who represented the plaintiffs, argued that Trump “summoned and organized” the Jan. 6 “mob” on Monday. Trump’s lawyer Scott Gessler, however, described the lawsuit as “anti-democratic.”

In a Sept. 6 press release, CREW President Noah Bookbinder said: “While it is unprecedented to bring such a case against a former president, January 6 was an unprecedented attack that is exactly the type of event that the authors of the 14th Amendment wanted.” Build safeguards in case. They do not break the glass unless there is an emergency.

Trump’s legal team has argued that the former president exercised his First Amendment right to free speech by saying the election was stolen through widespread voter fraud, a claim that has not been proven.

Colorado’s case is the first of two challenges to his candidacy before the 2024 election. The Minnesota Supreme Court is also expected to hear oral arguments in a separate disqualification case.