Maine Secretary of State receives threats after Trump vote results

• Maine’s Shena Bellows is facing threats after her decision to remove Trump from the state’s ballot.
• “My safety and security are important,” she told CNN. “As well as the safety and security of everyone I work with.”
• President Trump’s campaign has sharply criticized Bellows, and her Republican supporters have also criticized her.

Maine Secretary of State Shena Bellows said Friday that she and her staff received “truly unacceptable” threats after barring former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 primary ballot.

“I was prepared for the possibility of a threat. I am truly grateful to law enforcement and the people around me who have been incredibly supportive of my safety and security.” Bellows told CNN journalist Caitlan Collins. During the interview.

“My safety and security are important to me,” she continued. “So is the safety and security of everyone I work with, and I am receiving threatening communications. They are unacceptable.”

Bellows, a Democrat, said he would continue to abide by the Constitution after facing criticism from President Trump and his Republican allies for keeping him from voting.

“We are a nation of laws and that’s what really matters,” she told Collins. “So I’ve been very focused on my duty to protect the Constitution.”

Bellows on Thursday ruled that Trump is ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot because of his actions before and during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, with the secretary of state’s office issuing a 34-page ruling. In the text, he cited Article 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states that individuals who have “engaged in rebellion or insurrection” may not hold public office, contrary to the U.S. Constitution. This section was also cited by the Colorado Supreme Court in its recent 4-3 decision to exclude Trump from the state’s Republican primary.

President Trump’s campaign denounced Bellows as a “violent leftist” and said it would appeal the decision.

“Make no mistake: These partisan acts of election interference are a hostile attack on American democracy,” Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chan said in a statement.

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (New York) in a statement Bellows’ decision to exclude Trump from the ballot was “unconstitutional and illegal,” he said.

The Colorado Republican Party on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove Trump from the state’s ballot.

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie, who has been harshly critical of his former ally on the campaign trail, also criticized Bellows’ decision Friday, arguing that voters should decide the former president’s political fate.