By Guy Page
A Texas man who sued Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland-Hanzas to keep Donald Trump off the presidential primary ballot has been indicted in federal court tax fraud.
John Castro, 40, of Mansfield, Texas, faces 33 counts of tax return fraud, a U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas said Friday, MSN reports.
The suit filed Oct. 2 in U.S. District Court in Burlington by John Castro of Mansfield, Texas charges that Trump gave direction, “aid and comfort” to ‘insurrectionist’ Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol January 6, in violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The suit further alleges that Castro – an FEC-registered candidate for the GOP nomination for president – will suffer an injury that may be redressed by the judiciary. The suit claims Castro has ‘political competitor standing.’
Copeland Hanzas has said repeatedly she would not keep Trump off the ballot, unless ordered to do so by the courts. “Until a court with appropriate jurisdiction orders this office to remove a candidate from the primary ballot, my team will continue to prepare the March Presidential Primary ballots with all candidates who met the administrative requirements mentioned above,” she said in a December, 2023 statement.
The Castro case does not appear to have proceeded beyond the October 2 filing. It is listed as “pending” on a national map published by Lawfare, a legal group tracking efforts to keep Trump off state presidential primary ballots.
Beginning in winter 2023, voters and advocacy groups have brought Section 3 challenges in courts across the country, attempting to block Trump’s name from appearing on ballots for state primaries and caucuses before the general election begins, Lawfare states. The nature and status of the challenges vary greatly state-by-state. In some states, disqualification challenges are being brought to election commissions and offices of secretaries of state, pursuant to state law, with appeals to state courts. In other states, cases are being filed directly in the court system. There are also challenges being brought in the federal courts. In two states, so far—Maine and, as noted, Colorado—Trump has been found to be ineligible to be on the ballot, though those decisions are currently being appealed.
The Castro indictment in Texas alleges he created false tax returns in the names of dozens of unsuspecting clients of his tax preparation business, resulting in many improperly paid claims, MSN reports.