The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take an appeal by Texas tax attorney John Anthony Castro claiming that Donald Trump gave “aid and comfort” to the “insurrectionists” who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The appeal was rejected without comment. Castro is not done, saying that because he is on the ballot he has standing.
Castro’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court claimed that he was materially harmed by Donald Trump’s place on the ballot because it denied him voters and access to small donors. His filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) shows that he has only received a single donation from himself for his campaign to the tune of $20 million.
“Petitioner Castro is an FEC-registered Republican presidential candidate actively pursuing the nomination of the Republican Party to pursue the Office of the Presidency of the United States. Respondent Trump is an FEC-registered Republican presidential candidate actively pursuing the nomination of the Republican Party to pursue the Office of the Presidency of the United States. Respondent Trump is causing a political competitive injury upon Petitioner Castro in the form of diminution of potential votes, political support, and political campaign contributions,” Castro’s Supreme Court petition stated.
Castro has been on the warpath against Trump since early 2022 when he filed a similar lawsuit.
“Omg people, my Supreme Court petition was about STANDING. Because I filed to be on the ballot today in Nevada (NH & AZ next), the issue is MOOT,” Castro said in a post on X after the Supreme Court decision. “THAT is why the Supreme Court declined. I NOW HAVE STANDING since I’m ON THE BALLOT!”
Case Undermined by Failure to Prove Jan. 6 was an ‘Insurrection’
His Supreme Court filing claimed that Trump supported violence in his Jan. 6, 2021 speech when he said to “fight like Hell.” Castro’s suit, like all others that claim that Trump violated the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment, fails to prove legally that the riot at the Capitol was an insurrection. Only the president of the United States, namely Donald Trump himself, had the authority under the Insurrection Act of 1807 to declare that an insurrection was underway.
Trump additionally stated that he wanted his supporters to be peaceful.
The rioters never claimed their aim was to overthrow the U.S. government. When Trump discussed imposing the Insurrection Act on George Floyd rioters months earlier, Democrats came to their aid and called the federal law enforcement officers Trump brought to Portland “stormtroopers.” Some of the intellectuals behind the George Floyd riots even called the movement an “uprising” or an “insurrection.”
What legal authority declared that the Capitol riot was an “insurrection”? None.
Castro told 19FortyFive that the only reason the organized movement to dump Trump’s name from the ballot under the 14th Amendment is underway is because Joe Biden is not decisively winning in the polls.
Castro Files Multiple Lawsuits
Castro filed multiple lawsuits in multiple states in his bid to knock Trump off the ballot.
Castro announced that a federal district judge had ordered a trial on October 20.
“BREAKING A U.S. District Judge has ORDERED a full-blown TRIAL to DISQUALIFY TRUMP on October 20th! Subpoenaed Witnesses include Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, Virginia Thomas, Mark Meadows, Cassidy Hutchinson, Pat Cipollone, Sarah Matthews, and Eric Herschmann. CASTRO v. TRUMP!” Castro wrote on X.
John Rossomando is a defense and counterterrorism analyst and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, The National Interest, National Review Online, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award for his reporting.
