A Pennsylvania activist filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania’s Common Court on Tuesday to disqualify Representative Scott Perry (Republican from Pennsylvania) from the 2024 primary elections, claiming he violated the insurrection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, according to reports from several media outlets – the same clause that led to former President Donald Trump being barred from the primary elections in Maine and Colorado.
Key Facts
Gene Stelb, a Democratic activist and former candidate for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, arguing that Perry’s role in the effort to stop the certification of the 2020 elections should be enough to prevent him from running for office in the upcoming elections, according to a PennLive report.
Anyone who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” is barred from holding office under the Fourteenth Amendment, and Stelb claims in his lawsuit that “Perry’s own actions and efforts awakened the application” of Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment, according to a report by ABC’s WHTM channel.
Stelb wants Al Schmidt, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State, to decide whether Perry can be on the ballot, according to the lawsuit, as reported by the York Dispatch.
Matt Beinon, a spokesperson for Perry’s campaign, told the York Dispatch that the Congressman was “focused on critical issues” facing his district and described the lawsuit as “frivolous” and “brought by an extremist activist.”
Perry’s office did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
Main Background
Last month, a federal judge ordered the handover of most of Perry’s phone records to special counsel Jack Smith, as part of Smith’s investigation into Trump’s role in the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Smith’s office was granted access to over 1,600 contacts found on Perry’s phone that could shed light on whether and how he sought to assist Trump in overturning the 2020 election. Records show that Perry was in contact with Trump supporters who spread false claims about the election, including White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark. Those communications were described as “active, ongoing, and extended” by the judge who reviewed the phone records, according to CNN.
Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court surprised many by ruling not to place Trump on the ballot for the 2024 primary in the state. The ruling, which was 4-3, stated that Trump was disqualified from the upcoming election under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment, the same clause mentioned in Stelb’s lawsuit. The Colorado court stated that Trump “engaged in” an insurrection when he incited the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Days later, Secretary of State Jenna Griswold said Trump would remain on the ballot unless the U.S. Supreme Court ruled otherwise, following an appeal. A day after this announcement, Maine’s top election official removed Trump from the 2024 primary ballot in the state based on the same Fourteenth Amendment clause. The Supreme Court has yet to address the matter.
Further Reading
Trump barred from the Maine ballot under the insurrection clause
Send me a secure tip. I am Faguay
Editorial Standards
Reprints and Permissions
Leave a Reply