After four years of failing to shut down disgraced outgoing President Donald Trump’s account, Twitter finally pulled the plug on Friday in an effort to prevent further incitement of violence ahead of Inauguration Day.
Trump had previously been suspended for a mere 12 hours in the wake of an attempted coup at the Capitol, a violent insurrection he instigated in a scheme to stay in power by force.
Rather than tone down his tweets, Trump continued spouting his election fraud allegations and announced that he would not be attending the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden. However, concerns remained that Trump may attempt to incite violence at the event, which occurs in 12 days, especially after he praised his supporters and declared that they won’t be silenced. So, Twitter announced that it made the decision to ban Trump permanently.
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 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. https://t.co/NrANZJcAfo
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021
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. https://t.co/ZcbhDEAYjH
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021
However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules and cannot use Twitter to incite violence. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021
If you visit Trump’s account now you will only find this:
In addition, disgraced retired General Michael Flynn, a convicted felon whom Trump recently pardoned, had his account suspended. Flynn had been calling for Trump to declare martial law and use the military to hold onto power.
Twitter even suspended daffy Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, who refuses to stop filing frivolous lawsuits alleging election fraud.
More members of Trump’s inner circle, including his children and Rudy Giuliani, could see their accounts suspended or banned next considering they could post messages on Trump’s behalf and have frequently incited violence themselves.
This all comes as House Democrats intend to vote on Articles of Impeachment on Monday. But at last, America no longer has to wake up and wonder what Trump has tweeted.
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