Twitter locks Trump's account for 12 hours, threatens permanent suspension
Twitter has locked President Donald Trump's account, demanding he removes tweets excusing violence and has threatened a 'permanent suspension.'
"As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy." said the Twitter Safety account.
"This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked.
"Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the@realDonaldTrump account."
The president posted a taped video on Wednesday afternoon as violent protests erupted on Capitol Hill during a joint session of Congress to certify the results of the presidential election.
Twitter removed the video, as well as a second tweet, in which Trump claimed that the election was "unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long," for the same reason.
As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy. https://t.co/k6OkjNG3bM
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021
Facebook has issued a 24-hour ban on President Trump.
"We've assessed two policy violations against President Trump's Page which will result in a 24-hour feature block, meaning he will lose the ability to post on the platform during that time," tweeted the Facebook Newsroom Twitter account.
"This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump's video. We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence," Facebook Vice President Guy Rosen wrote on Twitter.
Facebook initially flagged Trump's post with a label saying: "Joe Biden has been elected President with results that were certified by all 50 states. The US has laws, procedures, and established institutions to ensure the peaceful transfer of power after an election." The company later removed the post altogether.
Facebook's removal of Trump's post came after Twitter flagged the same video and restricted engagement "due to the risk of violence," reported FOX News.
Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021
Twitter also flagged a second tweet, in which Trump claimed that the election was "unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long," for the same reason.
"In line with our Civic Integrity Policy and recent guidance, we have placed a label on the Tweet, and have significantly restricting engagement with the Tweet due to the risk of violence," a Twitter spokesman told Fox News. "This means this Tweet will not be able to be replied to, Retweeted, or liked."
Twitter’s flag on Trump’s video message stated: "This claim of election fraud is disputed, and this Tweet can’t be replied to, Retweeted, or liked due to a risk of violence."
-The Associated Press and FOX News contributed to this report