A petition which calls for Donald Trump to be barred from running for president again for allegedly violating the Constitution has gained more than 100,000 signatures.
The petition from progressive campaign group MoveOn was set up in November and took two weeks to attract 50,000 signatures, by which point Trump had confirmed his intentions to run for the White House again in 2024.
As of the morning of December 5, it has now achieved more than 125,000 signatures, and MoveOn hoping to reach 200,000.
The petition calls for secretaries of state, state election officials, and members of Congress to "disqualify" Trump from holding public office over allegations he violated the 14th Amendment due to his actions around the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, states that a person who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" after taking a congressional oath should be prevented from running for office again.
"Donald Trump and his associates planned, promoted, and paid for a criminal conspiracy that became the January 6 insurrection," the petition states. "We need to fight back even harder to hold Trump accountable for his actions to damage our democracy—actions that continue today and are focused on laying the groundwork for his next coup to place him in the White House in 2024 no matter the will of the voters."
A number of people who signed the petition gave their reason for doing so in the comments section of the description page.
"Trump has violated the Constitution. Either we are a nation of laws...that believes in the Constitution...or we are not. Here's our chance to say who we are," petition signer identified only as Steven B. wrote on November 17.
Fellow petition signer Jeanue S. wrote: "A peaceful demonstration is one thing. Destroying the capital and looking for people to harm plus destroying their offices is quite another. They should be prevented from running for any government position."
The 14th Amendment has previously been cited in legal challenges from groups hoping to disbar people from office over the January 6 attack over claims they helped incite an insurrection, including Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and outgoing North Carolina Representative Madison Cawthorn.
However, in May a Georgia judge rejected the effort to disqualify Greene due to "insufficient" evidence to suggest she supported an insurrection. Cawthorn left office in January after losing his GOP primary to State Senator Chuck Edwards the same month.
A number of people also signed the MoveOn petition after Trump suggested terminating the Constitution to allow him to return as president while continuing to push the false claim the 2020 election was rigged due to widespread voter fraud.
"So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION?" Trump posted on Truth Social on December 3.
"Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great 'Founders' did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!"
In a statement criticizing the remarks, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said: "Attacking the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation and should be universally condemned."
Newsweek reached out to Trump for comment.
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Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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