“After a thorough review of recent Tweets from the @ realDonaldTrump account and the context surrounding it, we have the account permanently suspended due to the risk of further incitement to violence,” Twitter said.
“In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter rules could potentially lead to this course of action.”
Twitter’s decision followed two tweets from Trump Friday afternoon that would ultimately be his last. The tweets violated the company’s policy against glorification of violence, Twitter said, and “ these two tweets should be read in the context of wider events in the country and the ways in which the president’s statements could be addressed by different audiences. mobilized, also to incite violence. , as well as in the context of the behavioral pattern of this report over the past weeks. “
The first tweet was about Trump’s supporters.
“The 75,000,000 Great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOTE far into the future. They will not be respected or treated unfairly in any way !!!”
The second indicated that Trump had no intention of attending Joe Biden’s inauguration.
“To all those who have asked: I am not going to the inauguration on January 20th.”
Twitter said the tweet about the inauguration could be seen as a further statement that the election was not legitimate. It also said the tweet could be interpreted as Trump saying the inauguration would be a “safe” target for violence because he would not be attending.
Trump’s other statement on American patriots suggested that “he intends to continue to support, strengthen and protect those who believe he won the election,” Twitter said.
The Twitter ban relates specifically to “the @ realDonaldTrump account,” not Trump personally.
Twitter will enforce its anti-ban evasion policy to ensure Trump does not circumvent his personal account suspension, the company told CNN.
“If it is clear that another account is being used to circumvent a ban, it could also be suspended,” Twitter said in a statement. “For government accounts, such as @POTUS and @WhiteHouse, we will not suspend those accounts, but will take action to limit their use. However, these accounts will be transitioned to the new administration in due course and will not be suspended by Twitter unless absolutely necessary to mitigate actual damage. “
Trump was attempting to test Twitter’s policies at around 8:30 p.m. on Friday night, when he or someone acting on his behalf posted four tweets from the @POTUS account.
“As I’ve been saying for a long time, Twitter has gone further and further in banning free speech, and tonight Twitter employees coordinated with the Democrats and the Radical Left to remove my account from their platform, to silence me, Trump tweeted.
The tweets disappeared almost immediately.
Twitter told CNN that the Trump campaign account has also been permanently banned. Before @TeamTrump was shelved, it had been seen to share the same thread of four tweet Trump attempted to post from the @POTUS account.
Civil rights leaders who have long criticized technology platforms for spreading hate speech and division welcomed Twitter’s decision.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called it an “excellent step”.
“A fitting end to a legacy of hatred and vitriol spitting out,” Greenblatt said. “President Trump instigated the violent riot in the Capitol through social media and paid the price.”
Eric Naing, a spokesman for Muslim Advocates, said Twitter “shows real leadership.”
“As Twitter points out, Trump’s continued posting of tweets, Facebook posts and YouTube videos risks further incitement to violence for his white nationalist supporters,” Naing said. “Now it’s up to Facebook and Google / YouTube to follow Twitter.”