Donald J. Trump has disqualified himself from ever holding an elected public office as a result of his actions and planning prior to, during and after the Jan. 6 insurrection and planned rebellion. I believe Alaska should seriously consider engaging in the legal efforts like Colorado and Minnesota to keep his name off our primary and general election ballots. It’s a matter of saving our country and its fragile democracy against a narcissistic, autocratic wannabe ruler of the world. According to constitutional writing and meaning, here’s why his name should not appear.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies any person who, having taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, thereafter engages in an insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution of the United States, disqualifying that person from holding high public office in the future, including the presidency.
So it’s more than just a proscription and disqualification for anti-democratic conduct by an individual, but, in this circumstance, it is that and it would apply in this instance to disqualify the former president from holding the presidency again, because of his effort, plan and attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, knowing that he had lost that election to then-candidate Joe Biden.
This is very, very important: Section 3 disqualifies one who has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution of the United States, not an insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or the authority of the United States. And so that’s the issue in Colorado and in Minnesota, and in the other states that are currently involved in the constitutional process to determine whether the former president is disqualified.
— Patrick Ozment
Anchorage
Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.