Donald Trump’s Twitter account has been suspended [Update: permanently]

Edit: Following Trump’s initial 12-hour ban from Twitter that required the removal of a few Tweets, the social media platform has decided to permanently ban Donald Trump from ever posting on Twitter again.

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

Twitter posted a release that explained its reasoning. Twitter offers a detailed assessment explaining the risks that Trump’s last two Tweets pose. One of which called his supporters “AMERICAN PATRIOTS” which could encourage further acts like the events that occurred on January 6. Trump’s final Tweet read: “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”

An internal petition contained more than 300 signatures from Twitter employees that called for Trump’s permanent suspension from the platform. Twitter has enabled Trump to spread misinformation and hateful speech to his followers. This was a long time coming but Twitter had to keep him on the platform for the public’s interest.

Original story follows below from January 7, 2021:

Following the events that transpired at the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, @TwitterSafety has announced that it is requiring that Donald Trump remove three Tweets that severely violated Twitter’s Civic integrity policy.

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

Twitter has locked Trump’s account for 12 hours as of around 7PM ET on Wednesday, citing the “unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C.” The following is an excerpt from Twitter’s Civic integrity policy – which was enacted in October in the weeks leading up to the 2020 US Presidential elections:

We believe we have a responsibility to protect the integrity of those conversations from interference and manipulation. Therefore, we prohibit attempts to use our services to manipulate or disrupt civic processes, including through the distribution of false or misleading information about the procedures or circumstances around participation in a civic process. In instances where misleading information does not seek to directly manipulate or disrupt civic processes, but leads to confusion on our service, we may label the Tweets to give additional context.

On Wednesday, a group of (some of which were armed) pro-Trump protesters vandalized and forced their way into the U.S. Capitol just as Congress was gearing up to certify the November 2020 Presidential Election results, likely as an attempt to further delay the certification process. This happened shortly after Trump pressured the Vice President to object the election results, despite the VP’s lack of power to do so, during a “Stop the Steal” rally that took place in D.C. on the same day.

Trump stayed silent during most of the event, until he Tweeted a video where he told supporters to “go home”, continued to insist that the election was “fraudulent”, and then referred to the rioters as “very special” people. This is one of the three Tweets that Twitter removed. Prior to their removal, the Tweets were slapped with warning labels that pointed out a “risk of violence” and directed viewers to a fact-checking page about the election results.

If @realDonaldTrump does not remove the three offending Tweets in the allotted time, his account will face a permanent ban.

As of this writing, the Capitol has been secured and the electoral certification has resumed.