Scheme launched by little-known GOP hopeful
By 
President Donald J. Trump applauds the crowd as he disembarks Air Force One Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, upon his arrival to Reading Regional Airport in Reading, Pa., the second of President Trump’s 4 stops in Pennsylvania. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead)
By Katelynn Richardson
Daily Caller News Foundation
The Supreme Court on Monday denied to hear the appeal of a little-known 2024 Republican presidential candidate trying to remove former President Donald Trump from the election ballot.
John Anthony Castro has filed lawsuits in several states claiming Trump is ineligible to hold office under section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars officials who took an oath to the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” from holding office. He asked the Supreme Court in August to hear his case after a federal district court in Florida dismissed his lawsuit due to lack of standing, a request that the justices have now denied.
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Castro argued that without judicial relief, Trump would “siphon off votes” in violation of the 14th Amendment. “Castro will further suffer irreparable competitive injuries if Trump, who is constitutionally ineligible to hold office, is able to attempt to secure votes in primary elections and raise funds,” he argued in his petition. “Trump’s constitutionally unauthorized undertaking will put Castro at both a voter and donor disadvantage.”
Castro told the Daily Caller News Foundation that he is “still pursuing decisions” in the lower courts. “I’m still pursuing decisions in the liberal appellate courts and there’s a full blown trial scheduled for October 20 in New Hampshire,” he told the DCNF. “Another bench trial on the merits in Arizona is scheduled for October 31.”
With lawsuits by other groups pending — including two filed by the left-wing group Free Speech For People in Minnesota and Michigan and one filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) in Colorado — there’s still a possibility of another case challenging Trump’s eligibility making it to the high court.
Castro told the Daily Caller News Foundation that he is “still pursuing decisions” in the lower courts. “I’m still pursuing decisions in the liberal appellate courts and there’s a full blown trial scheduled for October 20 in New Hampshire,” he told the DCNF. “Another bench trial on the merits in Arizona is scheduled for October 31.”
With lawsuits by other groups pending — including two filed by the left-wing group Free Speech For People in Minnesota and Michigan and one filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) in Colorado — there’s still a possibility of another case challenging Trump’s eligibility making it to the high court.