Insurrection

The judge’s decision comes as Illinois’ primary is less than three weeks away. It’s likely to be appealed.

The Cook County judge denied Trump’s request to stay the challenge until after the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on similar challenges in other states, setting a Feb. 16 next court date.

The hearing officer, a retired Republican judge, wrote a scathing assessment of Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection, but said the courts ultimately should decide. The full elections board will consider the matter Tuesday.

The pledge, a vestige of the McCarthy Red Scare era, is not mandatory for candidates in Illinois. Despite that, it has been signed by candidates for decades — including Trump in 2016 and 2020.

A group of Illinois voters filed a joint objection to Trump’s candidacy, arguing that the former president should be disqualified under the Constitution's 14th Amendment. It prohibits anyone who took part in an insurrection against the United States from holding federal office.

The former New York mayor admitted he spoke falsely about election fraud in Georgia, statements that featured prominently in his 2020 testimony to a Missouri House committee and in a lawsuit against the right-wing outlet Gateway Pundit.

More than a year after the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Department of Justice continues to spend enormous amounts of time and energy pressing cases against people from across the country who tried to overturn a presidential election with violence. Seventeen Missourians are facing federal charges.

Missourians charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol include an alleged member of the Proud Boys, a husband and wife, and a man who entered the Capitol dressed as George Washington.