Twitter permanently suspends Donald Trump's account over risk of 'incitement of violence'

The microblogging site Twitter on Friday, January 8, permanently suspended outgoing US President Donald Trump’s account over repeated violations of its rules, including incitement of violence. The company said that after assessing the tweets in the context of a violent storming of the Capitol on Wednesday, it determined that Trump’s tweets violated the firm’s ‘Glorification of Violence’ policy and constituted immediate removal from the platform. 

In a blog post, Twitter said, “After review of Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence”. 

It added, "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. 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”. 

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'President’s statements can be mobilised'

Trump had previously had its account suspended for tweeting praise for his supporters who stormed the US Capitol. However, he was later granted access again after deleting two tweets that violated platform rules. The US President had said that millions of those who voted for him would have a “giant voice long into the future and they will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way. In the following tweet, Trump said, “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th”. 

The microblogging website explained that due to the ongoing tensions in the US and uptick in the global conversation in regards of the people who stormed the Capitol building, the aforementioned tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilised by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behaviour from this account in recent weeks. Twitter said that refusal by Trump to attend the inauguration marked a rejection of a peaceful transfer of power and his tweet calling followers 'patriots' could be read as a glorification of the storming of the Capitol on Wednesday.

Together, these messages are “likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021”, Twitter concluded, and thus suspended the account.

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