Police investigating incidents involving Colorado justices after Trump removed from state's ballot

Police said on Tuesday they are investigating incidents directed at Colorado Supreme Court justices and providing extra patrols around their homes in Denver following the court's decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the state's presidential primary ballot.

The Denver Police Department declined in an email to provide details about its investigations, citing safety and privacy considerations and because they are ongoing.

Officers responded to the home of one justice on Thursday evening, but police said it appeared to be a hoax report. That case is also still being investigated police said.

The FBI said it is working with local law enforcement on the matter.

In a 4-3 decision last week, Colorado's highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but had said he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear that US Constitution's insurrection clause was intended to cover the presidency.

The state's highest court didn't agree, siding with attorneys for six Colorado Republican and unaffiliated voters who argued that it was nonsensical to imagine that the framers of the amendment, fearful of former confederates returning to power, would bar them from low-level offices but not the highest one in the land.

The court stayed its decision until January 4, or until the US Supreme Court ruled on the case. 

Colorado officials say the issue must be settled by January 5, the deadline for the state to print its presidential primary ballots.