A Florida tax attorney is suing former President Donald Trump to prevent him from ever again holding public office, citing the January 6, 2021 Capitol incursion as a “disqualification” enumerated in the 14th Amendment.
Lawrence Caplan, an attorney in Palm Beach County, filed the lawsuit in federal court on Thursday, as first reported by The Palm Beach Post.
In it, Caplan argues that Trump is “constitutionally prohibited from seeking a second term as President” and asks the court to determine whether he should even be allowed to participate in the forthcoming March 19, 2024 Florida Republican Party primary.
NEW: A challenge has been filed in federal court to have Donald Trump removed from the 2024 race under the 14th Amendment.
Mark my words: They’ll claim they’re doing this to “protect democracy.”
Attorney Lawrence Caplan filed a challenge claiming Trump cannot legally be on the… pic.twitter.com/BKBgqrxOmL
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 26, 2023
In an interview with The Hill, Caplan explained that he submitted the lawsuit because “someone had to take the lead” in challenging Trump’s eligibility to hold office again.
“This is a scary, scary guy, and if he’s president, I think we’re all on the way to fascism,” he claimed. “There’s no law that says we have to remain a democracy forever.”
Caplan clarified in court filings that his lawsuit is not politically motivated and noted that he has voted for both Democrats and Republicans in the last 12 presidential elections and has been an independent voter for some time.
His case is based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits any U.S. citizen from holding public office if, “having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Those who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution but have participated in a “insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort to the enemies” of the United States will be disqualified from holding public office.
Since the rule was instituted shortly after the Civil War to prevent former Confederates from holding public office, its application has been limited to a handful of notable cases.
“President Trump’s efforts both in Washington, as well as in Georgia and perhaps other states, as well as the consequential assault on the US Capitol, put Trump at the center of the disqualification clause, and as a result of which, make him ineligible to ever serve in federal office again,” Caplan argued in court filings.
More on this story via The Western Journal:
“Now given that the facts seem to be crystal clear that Trump was involved to some extent in the insurrection that took place on January 6th, the sole remaining question is whether American jurists who swear an oath to uphold the US Constitution upon their entry to the bench, will choose to follow the letter of the Constitution in this case,” Caplan continued, pointing out that three Supreme Court justices were appointed by Trump. CONTINUE READING…