Write-In Republican Presidential Candidate Files Lawsuit to Try and Keep Trump Off 2024 Oklahoma Ballot

A nobody write-in presidential candidate from Texas has filed a lawsuit to try and keep former President Donald Trump off the 2024 Oklahoma ballot.

The write-in candidate, John Anthony Castro, is mimicking the other lawsuit filed by a liberal group trying to keep Trump off of the ballot in Colorado.

The lawsuit cites Section 3 of the 14th Amendment which says, “No person … or elector of President and Vice-President … shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

Local station KJRH reports, “The write-in candidate John Anthony Castro claims Trump provided aid or comfort to those who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection. The suit is filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Trump and the Secretary of the Oklahoma State Election Board are named.”

“Castro says the 14th Amendment has an implied cause of action for another candidate to get relief if there is a political competitive injury because a candidate engaged in or provided aid or comfort to an insurrection. The relief Castro is seeking — to have Trump off the ballot,” the report continues. “Castro cites multiple statements and actions by Trump that he believes prove his argument, including on Sept. 29, 2020, when Trump told the Proud Boys to ‘stand back and standby.’”

Section 3 was created to keep Confederate leaders off the ballot after the Civil War. It has only been used once since 1919, when Victor Berger of Wisconsin was barred from being seated because he was a socialist.

The lawsuit has a September 27 deadline for Trump’s legal team to respond.

A similar lawsuit was filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW), a Washington D.C.-based liberal group, attempting to keep Trump off the ballot in Colorado.

“Donald Trump tried to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election,” states the lawsuit filed on Sept. 6. “Before the election, he made plans to cast doubt on and undermine confidence in our nation’s election infrastructure. After the election, he knowingly sought to subvert our Constitution and system of elections through a sustained campaign of lies.”