Massachusetts
Trump candidacy challenge dismissed in Massachusetts
Former President Trump will be allowed on Massachusetts’s presidential primary ballot, following a state panel’s dismissal of two challenges.
The Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission on Monday rejected two attempts to keep Trump off the ballot, stating it “does not have jurisdiction over the matters presented.”
The two ballot eligibility challenges followed the same line of argument as a series of others across the nation that invoke the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. The challenges argued Trump cannot appear on the primary or general ballots because he “engaged in a rebellion against the Constitution.”
The dismissals are a victory for the Trump campaign, which celebrated the decision Tuesday.
“Yesterday, the Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission dealt another blow to Biden Democrats and their Election Interference attempt to disenfranchise millions of American voters by trying to remove President Trump from the ballot,” the campaign wrote in a statement.
“In discarding this latest hoax, the commission sided with the Constitution, ensuring that the people of Massachusetts will have the right to vote for the candidate of their choice in 2024.”
The Bay State will hold its primary on March 5, or Super Tuesday, along with 15 other states.
The state’s Ballot Law Commission met last week for a pre-hearing conference where they heard arguments on procedural matters.
As they’ve done in other challenges across the country, Trump’s representation pushed the commission to toss the case.
“There is nothing in the case law or the statutes that the commission is required to follow that says qualification to be on a ballot is a precondition to appear on the ballot,” Trump lawyer Marc Salinas said, per CNN.
The commission is a bipartisan panel of five members appointed by the state’s governor.
The challenges were among several across the country testing the former president’s eligibility to run for president.
Most of the challenges to Trump’s ballot have been unsuccessful, though in two states — Colorado and Maine — the state’s Supreme Court and top elections official issued decisions, respectively, to eliminate Trump’s name from each state’s primary ballot.
Trump’s appeal of Colorado’s decision will be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court beginning in February. Maine’s case was appealed in the state’s Superior Court, and the justice assigned to the case issued a ruling last week to delay judgement until the nation’s highest court weighs in on the matter.
The Massachusetts decision came one day ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary in nearby New Hampshire, where a polling index by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ shows Trump leading former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley by nearly 14 points.
He easily won in last week’s Iowa’s caucuses, beating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by nearly 30 points. DeSantis suspended his campaign Sunday following the disappointing showing in the Hawkeye State.
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Massachusetts
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When Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is informed of the latest scandal, indictment, or attempted billion-dollar bid-rigging etc., she inevitably claims to be as astonished as everyone else.
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Massachusetts
Swimmer pulled from Houghton’s Pond after search
A teenager was pulled from a pond in Milton, Massachusetts, after he went missing while swimming Saturday night.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said the teenaged male was taken to a Boston area hospital following the incident at Houghton’s Pond. It’s unclear how long the teen was under water, and there was no immediate word on his condition.
State police had said earlier that they responded to the pond shortly after 7 p.m. for a person who entered the water and didn’t resurface. State police divers, detectives, troopers, and the Milton Fire Department were all on scene involved in the search.
The DA’s office is conducting an investigation with state police that remains ongoing. Further information is not being released at this time.
This story will be updated when we learn more
Massachusetts
Mass. man charged with posing as teen, exposing himself to 12-, 13-year-old girls
A Massachusetts man is facing multiple charges for allegedly engaging in inappropriate communications and exposing himself to children.
Orate Kyle Graham, 20, of Bridgewater, was arrested this week on two counts of disseminating obscene material to a minor and one count of accosting or annoying another person.
Bridgewater police said they were made aware Tuesday of allegations involving interactions between several girls age 12 and 13 and an individual known to them only as “Jay.” The individual said he was 17 years old during conversations with the girls through FaceTime and in person.
Through an investigation, police identified “Jay” as Graham, and also found that he had regularly engaged in interactions with the minor victims. During those interactions, he allegedly exposed himself and asked the girls to expose themselves to him.
He was arrested Thursday and taken to the Plymouth County House of Correction, where he was held on $25,000 bail. The case remains under investigation by Bridgewater police and the Plymouth District Attorney’s Office.
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