During an interview with POLITICO, Bellows explained that evidence presented in a Maine hearing demonstrated the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was an insurrection. “It was an attack on the Capitol, and not just the Capitol and governmental officials there, including the former vice president and members of Congress, but also on the peaceful transfer of power and on the rule of law,” she said. “That rose to the definition of insurrection.” State officials made the determination that the acts committed around Jan. 6 rose to the level of insurrection after weighing evidence presented in a hearing in Maine. Under the state’s laws, any voter can bring a challenge to a candidate’s eligibility, which triggers a hearing. The deadline to challenge a candidate’s eligibility was Dec. 8. According to a statement from Bellows’ office, three challenges were brought, and a hearing was held on Dec. 15. Even though Trump is currently wading through four sets of criminal proceedings, he has not been charged with, or convicted of, insurrection. Yet, Bellows, who oversees Maine’s elections, says the evidence she heard is enough to disqualify Trump from appearing on the ballot under the insurrection provision of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. In her 34-page decision to remove Trump from the ballot, she says that Trump “used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters” and concluded that Trump “was aware of the likelihood for violence and at least initially supported its use,” arguing that he took too long to try and stop it. “If there had been a conviction or an acquittal, under United States law, that would have been an easier decision,” she told POLITICO. “But that being said, this is not a criminal proceeding. And Section 3 of the 14th Amendment does not state ‘conviction,’ it is ‘engaged in’ insurrection.” On Jan. 2, Trump’s legal team appealed Bellows’ decision, telling the Maine Superior Court that the Secretary of State’s ruling “was the product of a process infected by bias and pervasive lack of due process; is arbitrary, capricious, and characterized by abuse of discretion.” Trump’s lawyers have asked the court to vacate the ruling from Bellows and place his name on the ballot. Maine’s primary election will be held on “Super Tuesday,” which this year will be March 5.Shenna Bellows, the Maine Secretary of State who removed former President Donald Trump from the 2024 election ballot, is defending her actions, saying state law required her to make the controversial decision.
