Chicago City Wire

Conservative Chicago activist Pat Gibbons admits a challenge contesting President Joe Biden's eligibility for the 2024 Presidential ballot is unlikely to see any success, but is hoping the action gets the message through to those on the other side of the aisle.

Gibbons did research for the petition filed with the Illinois Board of Elections last week.

Gibbons cited the 14th Amendment, Section Three, alleging that President Biden aided and abetted illegal border crossings, leading to concerns about MS13 gang members, Russians and terrorists entering the country without proper vetting.

Paper copies of the electoral challenge to President Joe Biden. | Pat Gibbons

While Gibbons acknowledges the protest is likely symbolic, he hopes it serves as a statement.

“Absolutely, it is a protest. We know that for the sitting President Joe Biden, probably most likely this will just be nothing,” Gibbons told Chicago City Wire.

“And if it's nothing for Joe Biden, hopefully it's nothing for Donald Trump to worry about as well. Because, as you know, a lot of the cases are going to the United States Supreme Court. And luckily, we have at least five conservative judges that are on our side on this.”

The challenge was submitted to the Illinois Board of Elections in Springfield.

The Illinois activists came together to challenge the inclusion of Biden on the state's March 19 primary ballot.

The group’s move follows the removal of Trump from official ballots in Colorado and Maine. 

Meanwhile others have challenged Trump's candidacy in Illinois.

Gibbons draws parallels to the legal challenges faced Trump, emphasizing bias against Trump in the justice system. He also highlighted a double standard, claiming that election rules only apply to certain candidates and calling the system rigged.

“It's definitely a huge hypocrisy. I've never seen anything like this in my life,” Gibbons said.

“I understand if you don't like a person, I understand that, okay? And there've been a lot of hit jobs and ads and commercials....whatever. I’ve never seen anything where they use the justice system as a weapon, as a tool against another candidate.”

“They don't have any evidence on this man.”

Meanwhile, Gibbons argues Biden has been given a pass for some of the same accusations lodged at Trump.

“Joe Biden has documents, very pertinent documents, that's on the floor in his garage. And tell me if that's secure? It's ridiculous, but nothing on Joe Biden. He seems like an innocent angel. He's an angel, and his son is an angel, too. I'm talking about Hunter and his laptop and all that stuff. It's really a two tier justice system,” he said.

Gibbons expresses frustration with what he sees as “election interference.”  

"They're doing everything and anything to stop this man from being elected.”

Gibbons further criticizes the current state of the Democratic Party, pointing to extreme left-wing ideologies embodied by “wokeism” and “gender ideology.”

“If you had old school Democrats, like Mayor (Richard J.) Daley, old Man Daley or JFK, they would never be accepted by today's Democratic Party,” he said. “That’s how that's how a leftist Democratic Party is. And it's good they keep attacking Trump. His poll numbers keep going higher and higher and higher.”

He emphasizes the importance of bringing attention to perceived hypocrisy and maintains that the challenge to Biden's inclusion on the ballot is a response to actions taken against Trump.

“We are the only state to attempt to remove Biden off the ballot. We are trying to make a statement that, 'hey, you do it to us, we're going to do it to you,”” Gibbons said.

The challenge to Biden's inclusion on the ballot in Illinois adds another layer of complexity to an already charged political landscape, showcasing the ongoing divisions and battles within the American political sphere.

As legal and symbolic gestures unfold, the political repercussions of such challenges continue to reverberate through the country.

Politico highlighted the challenge to President Joe Biden's statement of candidacy in Illinois.

According to Politico's Jan. 16 Illinois Playbook, the objections being filed with the State Board of Elections, included Beth Findley Smith, a La Salle County board member.

Politcio noted the objections allege that Biden's paperwork was erroneously notarized by a notary public in D.C. rather than in Illinois.

The procedural issue is set to undergo a hearing process similar to the objections raised against Trump.

The Illinois Republican described the individuals filing the petition as grassroots conservative patriots facing potential attacks for their actions.

This challenge preceded former President Trump's recent triumph in the Iowa caucuses, effectively curtailing the presidential aspirations of figures like Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.

Regarding Gibbons' comments on the Hunter Biden laptop, the story faced suppression during the 2020 presidential election when Twitter, prior to Elon Musk’s purchase of the company, censored the New York Post for reporting detailed information about Hunter's business connections with foreign entities, including Chinese intelligence officials.

Mainstream media refrained from covering the incident until 18 months later, well after the presidential election, when the New York Times and other outlets acknowledged the laptop's authenticity.

The Times, in particular, has been criticized for its handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story. Initially dismissing it as "Russian disinformation" during the 2020 campaign, the Times only confirmed the laptop's authenticity two years later, with critics contending that the acknowledgment was belated and buried within an unrelated report.

Detractors argue that the Times downplayed the story's significance, which involved emails and documents indicating Hunter Biden's use of political influence in foreign business dealings.

Critics also suggest that the legacy media's reluctance to address the story promptly may have been driven by a desire to avoid negative implications for Joe Biden's presidential campaign, leading to accusations of bias and a perceived lack of journalistic integrity in the Times' handling of the situation.

Editor's note: This story was updated to clarify Gibbons was not an official objector to Biden's inclusion on the ballot.