NE Valley Times

Arizona Rep. Alexander Kolodin took to social media platform X to criticize Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. Fontes had publicly expressed his disagreement with the Arizona Supreme Court, as he lacks the authority to remove former President Donald Trump from the Arizona ballot.

"Awwww, poor Adrian," Kolodin said. "Sorry that my friends and I spoiled your plans to remove Trump from the ballot. But you're the one 'defending democracy,' right?"

Despite numerous Democrats' calls to exclude former President Trump from this year's ballot, Fontes is unable to do so in Arizona due to a prior Supreme Court ruling. The disqualification clause in the 14th Amendment, which pertains to those who "participated in insurrection" against the United States and their ability to hold office again, can only be enacted by Congress. Fontes has expressed his disappointment with this decision, as reported by Yahoo News.

Former President Trump's third indictment resulted from his alleged connection to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, following the 2020 election outcome. Trump continues to claim his innocence, while his supporters argue that the indictments are a deliberate attempt to obstruct his potential return to the presidency. Trump was also indicted for falsifying business records, mishandling sensitive documents, and orchestrating an effort to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 victory in the state of Georgia, according to the Washington Post.

The ruling in Arizona that prevents Fontes from removing Trump from the ballot is also linked to the January 6 incident. A lawsuit aimed to exclude Reps. Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, and secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem from the ballot last year due to their alleged involvement. However, the judge ultimately dismissed the case, according to the Washington Examiner.

"If Democrats try to keep President Trump off the ballot, please know that the Arizona Republican Party under Chairman Jeff DeWit will engage in aggressive litigation to make sure that President Trump WILL APPEAR ON THE BALLOT IN ARIZONA," said the Arizona Republican Party in a post on the X platform. "We will not allow the Democrats to choose our candidates."