Washington: Social media giants Twitter and Facebook have temporarily blocked US President Donald Trump’s account from further posting after his supporters violently stormed the Capitol building in Washington D.C.
In a video on Wednesday, Trump urged his supporters, who forced their way into the Capitol earlier in the day, to go home, but repeated his unsubstantiated claims about widespread fraud in the November 3, 2020, presidential election.
In a statement late Wednesday night, Twitter said that Trump`s personal Twitter account will be locked for 12 hours as he violated the platform`s violent threats policies and will be permanently suspended if he continues to do so, Xinhua news agency reported.
Facebook and Instagram said Trump won`t be able to post for 24 hours. Facebook also removed posts, including a video that Trump posted on the platform in support of the mob descending on the US Capitol.
“This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump`s video. We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence,” Guy Rosen, Facebook vice president of integrity said in a tweet.
A statement put out by Facebook read: “We`ve assessed two policy violations against President Trump`s Page which will result in a 24-hour feature block, meaning he will lose the ability to post on the platform during that time.”.
Trump`s account on Facebook-owned Instagram will also be locked for 24 hours, Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed.Facebook removed a one-minute long video posted by Trump after Pro-Trump protesters stormed the US Capitol building where a vote to certify the results of the 2020 election was going on.
In the video, Trump could be seen calling on rioters to peacefully “go home” and stated falsely that “we had an election that was stolen from us.
“Facebook also removed a text by Trump asking his supporters to “remember this day forever!”Twitter has restricted Trump on its platform, locking his account for 12 hours after removing three tweets that the company said were “severe violations” of its policies.
Twitter and Facebook have labeled several of Trump`s tweets in the past but this is the first time that they have gone ahead and removed his tweets and posts.
“Our public interest policy — which has guided our enforcement action in this area for years — ends where we believe the risk of harm is higher and/or more severe,” Twitter said in a tweet.
A chaotic and violent scene erupted at the Capitol on Wednesday as supporters of Trump swarmed the building to protest the Electoral College vote, forcing a lockdown and various confrontations with police.One woman protester died at the Capitol after being shot.
The House and Senate were less than an hour into debating the first GOP objection to a state that Biden won — Arizona — when they were forced to abruptly recess as mostly maskless rioters crowded into the hallways around each chamber, The Hill reportedMore than a dozen people have been arrested, police said Wednesday evening.
Shortly before a 6 PM curfew established by Bowser, the House sergeant-at-arms informed lawmakers that the Capitol had been evacuated.Lawmakers in both parties called for the prosecution of rioters who broke into the Capitol and interrupted proceedings.
Google-owned YouTube also removed the video, saying that it violated the video-sharing platform`s policies regarding content that alleges widespread election fraud.
In a statement, YouTube spokesperson Alex Joseph said, “In addition, we`re continuing to raise up authoritative news sources on our home page, in search results and in recommendations. We will remain vigilant in the coming hours.”
On Wednesday, a woman was killed in gunfire inside the Capitol after Trump supporters stormed the building to disrupt the democratic functioning of Congress as it was in the middle of ratifying the election of Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice President.
The chaos ultimately led to a lockdown and eventual evacuation at the Capitol.
