Twitter has permanently suspended President Trump from its platform citing risk of instigating further violence.
Trump’s Twitter account was suspended on Friday as punishment for his role in the attack on the US capitol. The ban is a significant reprimand for the president who had used the microblogging site to gain political prominence.
The US president was suspended after the two tweets which would be his last violated the company’s policy against glorification of violence.
Trump had directed the first tweet to his supporters.
“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!!”
In the second, however, he indicated that he won’t be present at Joe Biden’s inauguration.
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”
Twitter said his tweets suggested that he plans to continue to support, empower, and shield those who believe he won the election and can also be viewed as a further statement that the election was not legitimate.
“After 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.
“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 the 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,” Twitter said.
The microblogging site also noted that the president’s statement can be interpreted differently and mobilised by different audiences.
“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 behaviour from this account in recent weeks.
“After assessing the language in these Tweets against our Glorification of Violence policy, we have determined that these Tweets are in violation of the Glorification of Violence Policy and the user @realDonaldTrump should be immediately permanently suspended from the service,” it added.
WAP had reported how armed and angry mob of trump’s supporters stormed Capitol Hill and clashed with police just as Congress convened to validate Joe Biden’s presidential win.
About five people were reported dead in the violence that ensued as pro-Trump protestors breached barricades and advanced into the halls of the Capitol building, smashing windows and brawled with police officers in what is widely being considered one of the worst security breaches in US history.
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