Former press secretary Rochelle Ritchie calls out Twitter for not blocking mail bombing suspect Cesar Sayoc, who she says threatened her
On Friday morning, authorities arrested and charged a 56-year-old man, Cesar Altieri Sayoc, in connection to the mail-bombs that have been sent to high-profile Democrats like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and Robert Di Nero, and to CNN. But it turns out that these aren’t the first threats that Sayoc has been linked to. Just a few weeks ago, a Twitter user who went by Cesar Altieri was brought to Twitter’s attention for threatening former congressional press secretary Rochelle Ritchie on the social media platform.
In a tweet that she has now shared with her over 4,000 followers, Ritchie showed that she was previously targeted by Altieri after she made an appearance on Fox News as a political commentator. “Hug your loved ones real close every time you leave you home,” the message said. When she reported the message to Twitter, the company responded saying, “There was no violation of the Twitter Rules against abusive behavior.”
Hey @Twitter remember when I reported the guy who was making threats towards me after my appearance on @FoxNews and you guys sent back a bs response about how you didn’t find it that serious. Well guess what it’s the guy who has been sending #bombs to high profile politicians!!!! pic.twitter.com/xBY8FMbqnq
— R O C H E L L E (@RochelleRitchie) October 26, 2018
Now she’s telling Twitter “I told you so,” and getting support from other users.
Dude.. he came for me too a few weeks back.
I'm currently going thru a massive, I repeat.. MASSIVE folder of screenshots of people who've threatened me to see if I can find his threats.
These tr*mp supporters are the most dangerous people in the country.. perhaps the world.
— MyTweetsK*llFascists (A Woody Guthrie Reference) (@Humancipator35) October 26, 2018
OH LOOK, @TWITTER @TWITTERSUPPORT, you kept a terrorist bomber on your site b/c his harassment of a woman of color wasn't enough of a violation of your terms of use.
FIX YOUR STUPID RULES & STOP LETTING CRAZY NAZI ASSHOLES USE YOUR SITE TO SPREAD HATE & VIOLENCE, TWITTER!
— Mark Hughes (@markhughesfilms) October 26, 2018
Alas, this has been my experience as well. Threats to Black women somehow never violate their TOS.
— Melanie Says People Get Ready 2018 (@JoyRoseM) October 26, 2018
Ritchie didn’t immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment. A spokesperson from Twitter said, “This is an ongoing law enforcement investigation. We do not have a comment.”
Along with these Twitter threats, Sayoc was also allegedly responsible for a bomb threat back in 2002, in addition to nearly a dozen other arrests in Florida. Now, he faces up to 58 years in prison.
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