In a filing presented to the Supreme Court on Friday, lawyers leading the effort to prevent Donald Trump from running for president again argued that the former president should be declared ineligible due to his involvement in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol. They called on the justices to uphold a Colorado court decision that would remove Trump from the state's primary ballot in 2024.

The lawyers emphasized the gravity of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack in their filing, urging the Supreme Court to fulfill their constitutional duty and hold Trump accountable. They stated that "nobody, not even a former President, is above the law."

The upcoming hearing, scheduled in less than two weeks, is seen as a historic case that could potentially disrupt the 2024 presidential election. At its core, the case challenges a provision in the 14th Amendment, which bars individuals who "engaged in insurrection" from holding public office. This provision was added to the Constitution in 1868 following the Civil War.

According to the lawyers, Trump intentionally organized and incited the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, all in a desperate attempt to hinder the counting of electoral votes that went against him in his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. The lawyers emphasized that Trump bears responsibility for the insurrection that took place that day.

The written filing presented extensive details of Trump's actions leading up to January 6, including his tweet on December 19, 2020, where he urged his followers to attend a planned protest on the day of the electoral vote count, stating it would be "wild." The lawyers also highlighted Trump's speech to his supporters on January 6, asserting that he "lit the fuse."

Photographs capturing the chaos of that day were reproduced in the brief, including one showing U.S. Capitol Police Officer Daniel Hodges pinned in a doorway during the attack.

Trump's legal team has argued against efforts to exclude him from the ballot, warning that such actions would disenfranchise millions of Americans and potentially result in chaos. They contest the notion that Trump engaged in insurrection and maintain that the presidency is not covered by the applicable amendment. Additionally, they argue that congressional legislation would be necessary before states could invoke the provision to prevent candidates from appearing on the ballot.

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on February 8, with Trump having already secured wins in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Nikki Haley, former U.N. Ambassador, remains his sole significant challenger within the Republican Party.

Both sides recognize the urgency of the court's decision, as voters need clarity on Trump's eligibility to hold the presidency. The compressed timeframe of the case allows for a potential ruling to be made before Super Tuesday on March 5, which will see a significant number of delegates up for grabs, including in Colorado.

At the heart of the case is a two-sentence provision in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, stating that those who took an oath to uphold the Constitution and subsequently "engaged in insurrection" are no longer eligible to hold state or federal office. After a general amnesty was granted to most former Confederates targeted by the measure in 1872, the provision fell into disuse until numerous lawsuits were filed this year to prevent Trump from appearing on the ballot. Only the case in Colorado yielded a successful outcome.

Furthermore, Trump is currently appealing a ruling by Maine's Democratic secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, who deemed him ineligible to appear on the state's ballot due to his role in the Capitol attack. Both the decisions of the Colorado Supreme Court and the Maine Secretary of State are pending until the appeals process concludes.