الكاتب: kafej

Maine’s top election official has disqualified Donald Trump from the state ballot in next year’s US presidential primary election – becoming the second state to bar the former president over the Capitol riots.

Maine secretary of state Shenna Bellows ruled that Mr Trump incited an insurrection when he spread false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election and then urged his supporters to march on the Capitol on 6 January 2021.

“I do not reach this conclusion lightly,” Ms Bellows wrote in her 34-page decision.

“I am mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”

The ruling, which can be appealed to a state court, applies only to the March primary election, but it could affect Mr Trump’s status for the November general election.

It will likely add to pressure on the US Supreme Court to resolve questions about Mr Trump’s eligibility nationwide under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits anyone who swore an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against it from holding office.

Mr Trump has been indicted in both a federal case and in Georgia for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election but he has not been charged with insurrection related to the 6 January attack.

His lawyers have disputed that he engaged in insurrection and argued that his remarks to supporters on the day of the 2021 riot were protected by his right to free speech.

The Trump campaign said it would file an objection to the “atrocious” decision made by Maine’s secretary of state.

“We are witnessing, in real-time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung added in a statement.

On 19 December, Colorado became the first state to disqualify Mr Trump from its primary ballot, making him the first candidate in US history to be deemed ineligible for the presidency for engaging in insurrection.

Mr Trump has vowed to appeal the Colorado ruling to the Supreme Court.

Read more:
All you need to know about Trump’s legal labyrinth
After Trump is removed from the Colorado ballot, what happens next?

Similar attempts to disqualify Mr Trump in other states have been rejected.

The top court in Michigan, a pivotal battleground state in the general election, declined on Wednesday to hear a case seeking to disqualify Mr Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot.

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Maine is rated as likely Democratic by non-partisan election forecasters, meaning that President Joe Biden is expected to win the state.

But Mr Trump captured one electoral vote from Maine in both the 2016 and 2020 elections due to an unusual set-up that allows the state to split its four Electoral College votes.

Candidates must win 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency.

The father of an American driver who fled the UK after a crash left a British nurse unable to walk is attempting to raise funds for his son’s legal costs.

Issac Calderon, 22, has been charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving after a collision on the A4103 near Shucknall in Herefordshire on 31 July left Elizabeth Donowho with two broken ankles, a fractured sternum and a broken bone in her hand.

The 56-year-old was unable to walk for six weeks following the collision.

A warrant was issued for Calderon’s arrest after he failed to turn up to a hearing at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on 1 December.

He is now back living with his parents in his hometown of Humble, in Texas, where Sky News tracked him down earlier this month.

Following the crash, Ms Donowho told Sky News that UK police told her Calderon was connected to the US intelligence services, and that he had been visiting a British special forces base in Hereford.

In court, Calderon’s occupation was given as “American soldier”, according to the Hereford Times.

The case has been likened to that of Anne Sacoolas, the US spy who left the UK after killing teenager Harry Dunn in a crash in Northamptonshire in 2019.

Isaac’s father, Manuel Calderon, set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for his son’s legal representation.

The page was live on Thursday morning but was later removed by the platform.

GoFundMe told Sky News this was because it violated their terms of service as it was “in defence of a violent crime”.

A written message on the page said Issac had been working as a contractor in the UK “due to his security clearance with the Texas National Guard”.

It said he returned home with a ticket bought by the company.

His father said the family had been “contacted by the FBI” and they were “talking about extraditing him”.

He also said his son had sustained injuries in the crash, and “still has problems from his concussion and his fractured humorous”.

However, it said he would be unable to access medical treatment until January due to his insurance.

The post concluded: “We do not have funds for hiring international legal counsel, we are a single income family and not a family of means.

“We have spoken with an attorney, although his price is reasonable we do not have the funds or know of someone who would give or lend us that amount of money.”

The family raised around a third of their $15,000 (£12,000) target before the page was taken down.

Legal advisor: A direct appeal to ‘do the right thing’

Radd Seiger, the legal advisor and spokesperson for Ms Donowho told Sky News she was “highly distressed” when she saw the GoFundMe page late on Wednesday night, and her “overriding emotion was one of hurt”.

Mr Seiger said Ms Donowho was going through a “tough time” and wasn’t sure she would ever be able to return to her work as a mental health nurse.

“When this crash happened, she suffered serious lower limb and upper limb injuries and a serious chest injury. It totally turned her life upside down and she can barely walk at the moment.

While Mr Seiger said it was “comforting” for Ms Donowho to know the FBI had been in contact with the family, he also had a direct message for Issac.

“He absolutely must return to the United Kingdom to face these charges without any further delay. And so, our appeal to him directly today is to get on the first available flight and come back and do the right thing.