Trump-endorsing attorney general files to intervene on bid to keep ex-president off West Virginia ballot

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R-WV) has filed a lawsuit to intervene on a push by long-shot Republican presidential primary candidate John Anthony Castro to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot in West Virginia, CBS 13 reports.

Castro, a Texas resident, filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Charleston Division. He cited section 3 of the 14th Amendment which “says anyone who is a part of an insurrection cannot run for office,” CBS reports. “The suit says Trump’s alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol Riots violates that amendment.”

Per the Bluefied Daily Telegraph, Castro “seeks to have Trump kicked off the West Virginia 2024 presidential ballot on the grounds that he ‘engaged in or provided “aid or comfort” to an insurrection.’”

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

Morrisey, who endorsed Trump’s reelection bid in April, said the move “deprives citizens of the choice for themselves who they want to represent them in every level of government and impedes a fair and free election process and impedes a fair and free election process.”

“Any eligible candidate has the right to be on the ballot unless legally disqualified, and we will defend the laws of West Virginia and the right of voters and candidates to the fullest,” Morrisey added, according to the Daily Telegraph.