Texas Republican dismisses Oklahoma lawsuit to keep Donald Trump off election ballot

A lawsuit filed in Oklahoma City to disqualify Republican Donald Trump from state presidential ballots next year has been dismissed, court records show.

John Anthony Castro, a Texas Republican who is running for president, dismissed the lawsuit in late September just weeks after filing it in federal court and claiming that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution barred Trump from running.

Castro, of Mansfield, Texas, said Section 3 of the amendment prohibits people from running for federal or state office if they had previously taken an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

Castro accused Trump of violating the Constitution by inciting a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when Congress was certifying the states’ Electoral College tallies.

Castro also challenged Trump’s candidacy in Nevada, Maine, Utah and Florida.

Early this month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal filed by Castro to a ruling in the Florida case, saying that he didn’t have standing to sue Trump. A U.S. district judge in Florida said Castro hadn’t alleged concrete harm or “ripeness.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma lawsuit to disqualify Donald Trump dismissed