LOS ANGELES, United States (AP) — Donald Trump is ineligible for the U.S. presidency because of his involvement in the January 2021 attack on the Capitol, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, triggering a political earthquake that will unravel the 2024 election could turn your head.

The stunning court decision, which Trump’s campaign candidate planned to appeal, sparked immediate condemnation from Republicans across the spectrum and appeared to undermine the former reality TV star’s claim of political persecution.

The ruling, which applies only to Colorado’s primary election, is the first in a series of lawsuits across the country that successfully invoke the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bars anyone who has previously sworn to protect the country. expelled from his office and later embarked on an uprising.

“A majority of the Court finds that President Trump is barred from holding office as President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States,” the Colorado Supreme Court wrote.

“Because he is disqualified, it would be an unlawful act under election law for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate in the presidential primary.

“We do not come to these conclusions lightly,” the 4-3 majority wrote.

“We recognize the size and gravity of the issues that now lie before us. We are also conscious of our solemn duty to apply the law without fear or favor and without allowing ourselves to be influenced by public reaction to the decisions the law directs us to make.”

An earlier lower court ruling found that while Trump clearly supported the Jan. 6 riots, the office of president was not included in the list of federal elected offices affected by the 14th Amendment.

Noah Bookbinder of the Washington campaign group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, which brought the original case, took to social media to applaud Tuesday’s ruling, calling it “a great moment for democracy.”

“It is not only historic and justified, but also necessary to protect the future of democracy in our country.”

“Our Constitution clearly states that those who violate their oath by attacking our democracy are barred from serving in government.”

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The court put its decision on hold until Jan. 4, awaiting an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which the Trump campaign would seek immediately.

“We will immediately file an appeal with the Supreme Court of the United States while also seeking a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.

Cheung said Colorado’s “all-Democrat-appointed” panel was acting on the mandate of a “[George] “Soros-funded plan by a left-wing group to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden.”

“Democratic Party leaders are in a state of paranoia about the growing, dominant lead that President Trump has gained in the polls.

“They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to prevent American voters from throwing them from office next November.”

The ruling sparked strong rebukes from senior Republicans, including Trump’s one-time rival for the 2016 nomination, Sen. Marco Rubio.

“The US has imposed sanctions on other countries for doing exactly what the Colorado Supreme Court did today,” he wrote on social media.

Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running for the 2024 nomination and has aligned closely with Trump during his insurgent campaign, called it an “election interference tactic to silence political opponents.”

“This is what an actual attack on democracy looks like,” he said in a statement.

Even as much of the traditional Republican Party becomes increasingly angry with Trump and his brand of doleful isolationism, a vocal grassroots movement continues to enthusiastically support him.

If he fails to rally behind the supposed top candidate in the fight against what he describes as a “witch hunt,” it could have dire consequences even for high-ranking party members.

Trump’s historic indictments for allegedly leading a criminal conspiracy to steal the 2020 election – one at the federal level and another in Georgia – have opened a frantic legal debate over his fitness for future office.

The Colorado lawsuit is one of several ongoing lawsuits against Trump under the 14th Amendment across the country. The Minnesota Supreme Court struck down a similar move in November.