Did Marines arrest Monica Marquez, a Colorado Supreme Court judge on December 20, for her alleged vote in favor of removing Donald Trump from the state's 2024 presidential primary ballot? The claim has been doing the rounds on social media since Wednesday, the day the Colorado Supreme Court disqualified Trump from the state's 2024 primary ballot.
However, the claim is completely false and should be treated as fake news. The article is from a website with a disclaimer stating that it specializes in publishing humor, parody, and satire. However, many started believing in the claim, while several are confused and are trying to find out the authenticity of the claim.
Strange Claim
On December 21, 2023, a report was published claiming that one of the Colorado Supreme Court justices who had ruled against former U.S. President Donald Trump's appearance on the state's 2024 ballot was arrested by U.S. Marines for treason.
The news appeared on the satirical website Real Raw News. The article generated over 1,100 comments on the website, and the claim was also shared on a Reddit channel named r/insanepeoplefacebook, where it garnered at least 2,200 upvotes and nearly 500 comments.
The article titled "Marines Arrest Colorado SCJ Who Voted to Remove President Trump from State Ballot," opens with the lines: "United States Marines on Wednesday arrested on charges of treason one of the four Colorado Supreme Court justices who voted in favor of removing President Donald J. Trump's name from the state's 2024 ballot, a source in General Eric M. Smith's office told Real Raw News."
However, the claim is completely fabricated and nothing but a satire.
The satirical article builds on the actual news of the Colorado Supreme Court ruling on December 19, 2023. In reality, Justice Monica Marquez was one of the four justices who participated in the decision that disqualified Trump from Colorado's 2024 primary ballot.
A Piece of Satire
It's important to note that, contrary to the satirical content, there is no factual basis for claims that she has been indicted or arrested by the order of U.S. Marine Corps General Eric M. Smith. The satirical piece exaggerates and fictionalizes the events for comedic or dramatic effect.
The article in question contains a mixture of factual elements and fabricated details. It accurately reflects a real Colorado Supreme Court decision on December 19, 2023, with a 4-3 majority ruling that, based on Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, Donald Trump is ineligible to hold the office of president and should be removed from the 2024 Colorado primary ballot.
However, the names of the four Colorado justices, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Darse E. Crandall, and U.S. Marine Corps General Eric M. Smith are authentic names associated with people in those roles.
The article, however, falsely claims that these people issued orders for arrests, and it inaccurately asserts that Justice Monica Marquez was indicted or arrested.
Moreover, according to a fact-check published by The Associated Press on December 22, a spokesperson for the Colorado Judicial Department confirmed that the allegation of Justice Márquez's arrest has "no legitimacy."
The statement further discredits the fictional claim made in the satirical article regarding Justice Monica Marquez being arrested in connection with the Colorado Supreme Court ruling.
