Twitter permanently suspends US President Donald Trump’s account, cites risk of further incitement of violence
Wednesday’s violence came hours after Trump encouraged his supporters to fight against the election results as Congress was certifying Biden’s victory in the November vote.
January 9, 2021 09:16
Washington [US]: The microblogging site Twitter on Friday (local time) permanently suspended US President Donald Trump’s account, citing a risk of further incitement of violence following a pro-Trump mob breaching the US Capitol on Wednesday.
“After a close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” said Twitter in a statement.
“In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action. Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open,” it further said.
The microblogging site said that it will continue to be transparent around its policies and their enforcement.
In a tweet on Friday, Trump said that millions of those who voted for him would have “a giant voice long into the future” and they will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way.
“The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!” he said.
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” he said in another tweet.
“Due to the ongoing tensions in the United States, and an uptick in the global conversation in regards to the people who violently stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, these two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks,” said Twitter.
A chaotic and violent scene erupted at the Capitol on Wednesday as supporters of Trump stormed the building to protest the Electoral College vote, forcing a lockdown and various confrontations with police. Four people died in the melee.
Wednesday’s violence came hours after Trump encouraged his supporters to fight against the election results as Congress was certifying Biden’s victory in the November vote.
Twitter had blocked Trump’s account from posting on their platform after the protests broke out in Washington, while Facebook on Thursday suspended his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely. Popular gaming platform Twitch has also banned Donald Trump’s official channel on its platform indefinitely.
Twitter unlocked the president’s @realDonaldTrump Twitter account after Trump removed three rule-breaking tweets. He returned to Twitter on Thursday with a video acknowledging that Joe Biden would be the next US president.
