Horse, bolted
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have all suspended Donald Trump from their platforms, after the President of the United States whipped up a baying mob which descended on Washington DC and stormed Congress, leaving four dead and 52 arrested. An improvised explosive device was also found on the Capitol’s grounds.
Twitter suspended the president for 12 hours, locking his account, and threatening him with a “permanent suspension.” The retweet and reply function were also removed from a video Trump posted during the violence, telling the mob “we love you,” that the election result was “fraudulent” but to now go home.
Twitter said it had removed three of the president’s tweets and his account would remain locked until he deletes them.
Facebook banned the president for 24 hours and he’s also been locked out of Instagram and Snapchat after posting the video, which called rioters “great patriots.”
A clean sweep of the big social media platforms but it’s too little, too late.
One person has been shot in America's Capitol after armed Trump supporters stormed the building and fought with police.
Congress was forced to suspend the certification of Joe Biden's election victory. pic.twitter.com/SF3tNzypuv
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) January 6, 2021
Terrifying scenes were broadcast from America’s Capitol last night as a violent pro-Trump mob stormed parliament, reaching the Congress floor and even Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s offices.
Police confirmed four deaths at the scene and that one woman was shot dead by law enforcement as rioters breached the perimeter. The other three died because of “medical emergencies” Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee said in a press conference.
Just hours before the Battle of the Capitol Trump had addressed his fans at a rally in Washington DC telling them he would never concede, and waited hours after they’d breached the building to ask them to leave. Even in that video he told the violent mob “we love you,” reiterated that the election was “fraudulent” but asked them be peaceful and return home.
A 6pm curfew was introduced in Washington DC by the city’s mayor Muriel Bowser. The National Guard, FBI and other law enforcement agencies were all deployed to the area.
Trump urged his supporters to end their assault on the US capitol – but still reiterated claims that the presidential election was “fraudulent” in the video that led to his ban.
https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1346970430062485505
Twitter said their 12 hour suspension will come into effect once the president deletes the offending tweets, if he doesn’t his account will remain locked. The company also said a permanent ban would be introduced if there are further policy violations.
“As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, DC, we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy,” Twitter Safety said.
“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.”
Twitter’s earlier warning on the video said: “This claim of election fraud is disputed, and this tweet can’t be replied to, retweeted, or liked due to a risk of violence.”
