Twitter bans Donald Trump permanently
US President Donald Trump has been permanently suspended from Twitter “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
Twitter said that 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.”
Twitter initially locked Trump’s account and removed three tweets following the violence at the US Capitol on Jan. 6. Trump had earlier incited his base to march to the US Capitol, telling them the election was stolen from him.
After riling them up, he went back to the White House while the angry mob headed for the US Capitol, which they occupied. Five people died in the riots.
After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.https://t.co/CBpE1I6j8Y
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021
In its initial 12-hour ban, Twitter said Trump would be banned permanently if he continued to violate its rules, including those around civic integrity or violent threats. Twitter said that two new tweets posted since Trump’s initial suspension violated the platform’s rules, prompting the permanent suspension.
This comes as House Democrats plan to introduce impeachment resolution on Monday, accusing Trump of incitement of insurrection.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg also released a statement yesterday saying Facebook and Instagram are extending the block they have placed on US President Donald Trump’s accounts “indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”
Twitter continued, “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.
“ However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules entirely and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement.”
Many have commented that it is too little, too late. Rep. Adam Schiff said, “Donald Trump has spent years demagouging, lying, preading hate, and propagating conspircie on Twitter. And worse, inciting violence. Social medi companies have allowed this vile content to fester for too long and eed to do much more. But banning him is a good start.”
Twitter said it will not let Trump circumvent the ban by tweeting from other accounts such as @POTUS, which is the official account of the sitting US president.
Trump used @POTUS to complain about the ban and how Twitter is not about free speech. He also tweeted about starting his own platform.
Twitter quickly removed those tweets.