Judge orders Trump off Illinois primary ballot but puts ruling on hold

An Illinois judge has ruled that Donald Trump’s name must be taken off the ballot for the state’s primary on the 19th March. 

However, the judge also placed her order on hold until Friday to allow an appeal.

Cook County Judge Tracie Porter issued her decision after a group of voters sued the Illinois election board’s earlier decision that there were no grounds to remove Trump from the ballot.

The five voters argued the former president is ineligible to hold office due to his involvement in the 6 January 2021 attack, in which a horde of Trump supporters violently stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to thwart the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.

The case is one of dozens of lawsuits filed to remove Trump from the ballot, arguing he is ineligible due to a rarely used clause in the 14th Amendment prohibiting those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office. 

In her 38-page ruling, Judge Porter said the petition by the group of voters should have been granted, calling the Election Board’s decision “clearly erroneous”.