Trump blasts attempt to 'illegally remove' his name from ballot in Colorado on phony insurrection claims

On Wednesday, Donald Trump responded to the attempt to remove his name from the ballot in Colorado, warning that if the 2024 election isn't free and fair, it could spell the end of democracy in the United States.

The former president is currently being challenged in court by a group of voters who cited the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause as justification for barring him from running in the state.

Trump has neither been charged nor convicted of insurrection by any court or prosecutor.

"A fake trial is currently taking place to try and illegally remove my name from the ballot," Trump said, suggesting that 2024 will be the most important election in the history of the country.

"Our country is being destroyed by people who have no idea what they're doing," he continued, "or even worse, they may very well have an idea; they may hate our country and they may want to see it destroyed."

Trump went on to claim that 2024 could be "the last election we ever have" if it ends up being "rigged and stolen."

"If crooked Joe and the Democrats get away with removing my name from the ballot, then there will never be a free election in America again. We will have become a dictatorship where your president is chosen for you. You will no longer have a vote, or certainly won't have a meaningful vote, and you could say, frankly, that that has already begun."

Trump urged Americans to "take a stand against tyrants," suggesting the Make America Great Again movement was the only way forward.

The lawsuit, filed on September 6 in Denver District Court, alleges that the former president "tried to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election," and that "his efforts culminated on January 6, 2021, when he incited, exacerbated, and otherwise engaged in a violent insurrection at the United States Capitol by a mob who believed they were following his orders, and refused to protect the Capitol or call off the mob for nearly three hours as the attack unfolded."

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution states that anyone who "shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof" can hold office.

Attorney Eric Olson has argued that Trump violated this clause via his conduct following the 2020 election and during the January 6 riot.