Police in Colorado are investigating threats against judges who ruled that Donald Trump can’t be on the state’s Republican nomination ballot.

Denver police said they had stepped up patrols around judges’ homes in the city, but the Denver FBI office also said it was assisting local police.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump is ineligible to run for sedition under a provision of the US Constitution.

Trump and his associates criticized the decision, calling it “deeply flawed” and will appeal to the US Supreme Court.

The decision was based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which was enacted after the US Civil War to prevent Confederate secessionists from returning to power after the country was reunited.

The provision states that any official “involved in sedition” is disqualified from holding federal office.

The majority in Colorado court ruled that Trump’s actions during the Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021 amounted to sedition.

After news of the ruling broke, a number of threats against the justices were posted online, according to Advance Democracy, a nonpartisan research group that monitors pro-Trump networks.

Some of the posts included personal information such as addresses and phone numbers of judges, the group said.

Threats to hang and shoot the judges were published in X, as well as on the Telegram messaging service, the Trump-owned Truth Social network, and several other fringe sites. Some of them have been withdrawn.

Among the calls for peaceful protests and political action, there were also clear calls for violence.

One user wrote: “If you live in Colorado, do what the founders REALLY would have wanted. Grab your rifles and the rope.”

In a statement, Denver police said they would “thoroughly investigate any reports of threats or harassment,” but declined to provide further details, citing confidentiality and ongoing investigations.

Daniel J Jones, president of Advance Democracy, warned that he had observed “violent language and threats against Colorado judges and others behind the Colorado Supreme Court ruling».

“This type of violent rhetoric is of considerable concern and it is appropriate that the authorities respond with protective action,” he added.

Trump has until Jan. 4 to appeal the Colorado ruling, and legal experts say his battle at the Supreme Court will be uphill.

Trump himself posted dozens of times on Truth Social over the Christmas weekend, comments criticizing the Colorado ruling and the many other legal cases against him.