February 22, 2024

The Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was a “textbook” insurrection, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law professor Mark Graber, PhD, JD, MA, argued in a Supreme Court amicus brief backing efforts to disqualify former President Donald Trump from future office.

The brief supports the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to prevent Trump from appearing on the state’s ballot, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars individuals engaged in insurrection from holding office. The appeal, known as Trump v. Anderson, is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Graber, an expert in constitutional law, argues that Section 3’s meaning was well-established after the Civil War and applies to Trump, emphasizing four legal elements of insurrection met in the Jan. 6 attack, including the use of force, resistance to law, public purpose, and an assemblage of people. Graber dismisses Trump’s defense as relying on technicalities and contends that Section 3 serves to disqualify those who are considered traitors from holding office. His historical and legal testimony played a role in the disqualification of a public official in New Mexico involved in the Capitol attack, marking the first such decision since 1869. Graber sees Section 3 as safeguarding the democratic principle that, after fair elections, candidates must accept defeat peacefully rather than resort to violence.

Read more about Graber’s position.