A Colorado judge ruled Friday that the former president

Donald

Trump was involved in the insurrection during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but rejected an effort to bar him from the state’s primaries because it is unclear whether a Civil War-era constitutional amendment barring insurrectionists from public office , applies to the presidency.

The lawsuit, filed by a left-wing group on behalf of a group of Republican and independent voters in Colorado, alleged that Trump’s actions regarding the attack violated a clause in the 14th Amendment that prohibits anyone from holding a position that deals with insurrection or revolt against the Constitution.

The decision by District Judge Sarah B. Wallace is the third ruling in just over a week against lawsuits seeking to bar Trump from the ballot by citing Section 3 of the amendment. The Minnesota Supreme Court said last week that Trump could remain on the primary ballot because political parties have the only choice over who appears, while a Michigan judge ruled that Congress is the proper forum to decide whether Section 3 applies to Trump is.

In her decision, Wallace said she had determined that Trump had actually insurrectioned on Jan. 6 and rejected his attorney’s arguments that he was simply engaging in free speech. Normally that would be enough to disqualify him under Article 3, but she said she couldn’t do that for a presidential candidate.

Section 3 does not specifically refer to the presidency, as it does with members of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives. Instead, the clause refers to the elector of the president and vice president, along with civilian and military offices.

Part of the Court’s decision is its reluctance to embrace an interpretation that would disqualify a presidential candidate without a clear, unmistakable indication that this is the intent of Section Three, the judge wrote.