Cases in Colorado and Minnesota are seeking to disqualify former President Donald Trump from winning the White House again. The hearing could break new ground in constitutional law and could easily end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Attorneys started their arguments on Monday, claiming Trump’s alleged role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, violated the Constitution's insurrection clause and thus prevents him from being able to seek office. The hearing in Colorado state court on Monday marked the first of two lawsuits against Trump as the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a similar case on Thursday.

Attorney Eric Olson argued Trump’s violent rhetoric before and on Jan. 6 encouraged the crowd of his supporters and others to storm the Capitol, where they came within "40 feet" of then-Vice President Mike Pence. He said Trump "summoned and organized the mob. We are here because Trump claims, after all that, that he has the right to be president again. But our Constitution, the shared charter of our nation, says he cannot do so."

Trump’s legal team and presidential campaign have pushed back on the validity of the lawsuit, saying it is just another attempt by Democrats to derail his presidential bid as he leads all Republicans in the presidential primary.

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The cases hinge on a Civil War-era provision – Section Three of the 14th Amendment – that prohibits those who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and then "engaged in insurrection" against it from holding higher office.

The case will pivot on whether the Jan. 6 attack meets the meaning of "insurrection" in the 14th Amendment and whether Trump's actions meet the definition of "engaging." Also, and perhaps most importantly, whether the rarely used provision was ever meant to apply to the presidency.

Ultimately, either the Colorado or Minnesota case could land in the U.S. Supreme Court, which has never ruled on the provision in question.

Trump’s lawyers contend the former president was simply exercising his free speech rights to warn about election results he did not believe were legitimate. They noted cases where the congressional authors of Section Three declined to use it more than a century ago against people who only rhetorically backed the confederacy.

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His lawyers said none of the issues are simple in a provision of the Constitution that hasn’t been used in 150 years. In court filings, they said the insurrection clause was never meant to apply to the office of president, which is not mentioned in the text, unlike "Senator or Representative in Congress" and "elector of President and Vice President."

"This is a legal Hail Mary by the Democrats," said Mike Davis, an attorney who appeared with representatives of the Trump campaign outside court before the trial began. "This case is going to fail."

Scott Gessler, an attorney representing Trump, called the lawsuit "anti-democratic."

Gessler, also a former Colorado secretary of state, noted there is also an informal principle in election law known as "the rule of democracy," which traditionally encourages judiciaries to "err on the side of letting people vote" whenever there is an ambiguity.

The Colorado testimony started by examining the ferocity of the Jan. 6 riot, where many people were injured and one protester was shot and killed.

Testimonies came from some witnesses who were in Washington on that day. The plaintiffs' lawyers also played several videos showing the day's violence and showed various Trump tweets and statements about the 2020 presidential election results.

Before the hearing on the lawsuit began, Trump's lawyers filed a motion to have the judge recuse herself because she had donated in the past to a liberal group in the state. She said no.

Judge Sarah B. Wallace said she would not recuse herself over a $100 donation she made in October 2022 to the Colorado Turnout Project, a group whose website says it was formed to "prevent violent insurrections" such as the Jan. 6 attack.

She was appointed to the bench in August of that year by Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat.

Wallace said she didn’t recall the donation and subsequently denied the motion.

Recent primary polls have Trump leading the Republican primary, with Nikki Haley and Gov. Ron DeSantis tied for second in Iowa. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Detroit Lions bounced back from a brutal loss to dominate the Las Vegas Raiders in a 26-14 win to move to 6-2 on the season.

Jahmyr Gibbs’ performance last week against the Baltimore Ravens was overlooked because it was a beatdown on the road. It was a different story tonight, as the rookie running back led the way for the Lions’ offense.

Gibbs set new career highs with 152 rushing yards on 26 carries, while scoring his second career touchdown on the ground. He also had 37 yards receiving on five catches for a total of 189 yards from scrimmage. 

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Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was dealing with an illness heading into this game, didn’t look like it was affecting him too much. He had six catches for 108 yards, including a 44-yard catch-and-run to lead the way through the air.

With Jared Goff very efficient under center, the Lions had 486 total yards on offense as the Raiders had no answer on most drives for this group Monday night.

However, the Raiders’ defense tried to keep this game close early on with some red zone stops leading to three Riley Patterson field goals as well as a fumble from wide receiver Josh Reynolds in the first half. 

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Jimmy Garoppolo and the Raiders’ offense did not reciprocate the production in this one. They struggled all night long, and the Lions defensive pressure on Garoppolo was a big reason why.

Garoppolo was sacked six times and pressured even more, as head coach Josh McDaniels stood on the sideline baffled by what his group was putting out on the field. Even after the Reynolds fumble, Garoppolo’s first pass of the Raiders’ golden opportunity was an underthrown ball to Davante Adams that resulted in an interception. The Raiders would turn it over on downs on the next drive followed by a punt. 

Still, they were able to get the first touchdown of this game thanks to running back Josh Jacobs bulldozing his way down the field on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a three-yard rushing score to make it 9-7 in favor of Detroit.

But, after Goff couldn’t find the end zone in their first three trips to the red zone, he finally cashed in with a strike to rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who finished the game with eight catches for 57 yards on 10 targets. 

The Lions were clearly the better team, but even in the second half, there was a slight chance the Raiders could steal the game on the road, especially after Goff’s biggest blunder. 

It looked like he was trying to throw the ball away on a broken play, but veteran cornerback Marcus Peters picked it off and ran it 75 yards to the house to give the Raiders a two-point deficit, 16-14, in the third quarter. 

A fumble was also forced on the next drive of the Lions by Craig Reynolds, breathing more life into the Raiders’ sideline. But yet again, the offense failed to make it count.

Eventually, the Lions tightened things up, which included Gibbs’ 27-yard touchdown run where he leaped into the Ford Field stands to celebrate with Lions fans after giving them a 23-14 lead.

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Looking more at the Lions’ box score, Craig Reynolds had 74 yards on 14 rushes, adding to Gibbs’ 152 for a total 222 yards on the ground for Detroit.

Linebacker Alex Anzalone was all over the place for the Lions in this one, accounting for two of the six sacks on Garoppolo, which came during a single drive. He led the team with seven total tackles. 

As for the Raiders, the NFL trade deadline is on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET and Adams might be asking to be dealt on the plane ride home after another frustrating night.

He was overthrown on two occasions by Garoppolo where he might have a touchdown after beating his defender. He finished with just one catch on seven targets for 11 yards – the lowest of any Raiders receiver in this game.

Jacobs enjoyed some production with 61 rushing yards and 27 receiving yards, both of which led Las Vegas, but Garoppolo was a putrid 10 of 21 for 126 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. 

Losers of two straight now, the Raiders head back home to face another lowly team in the New York Giants next Sunday, while the Lions head into their bye week.