The Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) filed a Motion to Intervene on Wednesday defending against a lawsuit that is attempting to keep Donald Trump off the ballot for president in Arizona. John Anthony Castro, a third-party presidential candidate, has been filing lawsuits in various states claiming Trump is not qualified due to the 14th Amendment.
The 40-year-old Republican’s lawsuits against Trump state, “Section 3 of the 14th Amendment creates an implied cause of action for a fellow candidate to obtain relief for a political competitive injury by challenging another candidate’s constitutional eligibility on the grounds that they engaged in or provided ‘aid or comfort’ to an insurrection.”
The 14th Amendment prohibits those who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the Constitution to hold various offices including that of president.
Castro filed the complaint in Arizona on September 5, asking the court for an injunction to stop Trump from being placed on the ballot. The court has not yet ruled on the motion and the AZGOP intervened before the deadline passed to respond.
Castro sued Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, but the AZGOP believes Fontes will put up only a weak defense. Nor does the AZGOP believe Trump himself can defend against the lawsuit adequately. Fontes “is colored by his Democratic background” and seeks to uphold “the executive branch’s interpretation of existing state law,” said attorney Dennis Wilenchik in the pleading.
Fontes has said he has no choice in the matter, state law provides that any candidate who files the minimum 500 signatures and who is on the ballot in at least two other states is automatically placed on the ballot.
Trump’s focus is on the 2024 presidential preference election only, whereas the AZGOP “is interested in safeguarding fair and fully participatory Arizona Republican primaries and presidential preference elections for many years beyond the impending 2024 election cycle,” Wilenchik argued. Consequently, “it is evident they will not adequately represent the AZGOP’s interest in this litigation,” the motion said.
The AZGOP argued in its attached Third-Party Complaint in Intervention that removing Trump from the ballot “unlawfully deprives the AZGOP of its First Amendment rights to engage in protected speech, expression, and association.” The brief accused the lawsuit of “an effort to intimidate and silence the AZGOP’s association and expression.”
The brief cited case law which found that the Arizona Constitution’s free speech protections are stronger than the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Article II, Section 6 provides, “Every person may freely speak, write, and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right.”
U.S. Federal District Court Judge Douglas Rayes denied Castro’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on September 18, on the grounds that “Castro has not carried his heavy burden of showing that the Court must take immediate action — without hearing from the adverse parties — in order to avoid irreparable injury before the Court can resolve his preliminary injunction motion.” Rayes, who was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama, said, “Castro has proffered no evidence that, were the Court to issue a TRO now, Mr. Trump would not receive contributions or support at current levels, or that Mr. Castro would receive more contributions or support than he is receiving now.”
Castro’s lawsuit in Florida was thrown out by a judge who stated that he lacked standing. Castro hasn’t met the threshold to participate in candidate debates. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take his case on appeal. Most state election officials appear skeptical of his lawsuits, such as West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey who asked the court to throw out Castro’s lawsuit in his state.
A hearing on Castro’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction is set for October 23 at 9:00 a.m. Trials are set for later this year on Castro’s challenges in Minnesota and Colorado.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter / X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “John A. Castro” by JohnCastro.com and “Donald Trump” is by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
