Twitter reverses course, unlocks McConnell campaign account

Twitter today reversed course and unlocked the campaign account of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, moving to defuse a growing controversy with the Republican political establishment.

The company on Wednesday had frozen the McConnell account over a post featuring a profanity-laced video of protesters hurling threats toward the GOP lawmaker’s Kentucky home. The post, the company said, violated its policy on tweets containing violent threats.

"After multiple appeals from affected users and Leader McConnell’s team confirming their intent to highlight the threats for public discussion, we have reviewed this case more closely," wrote Twitter's communication team in a series of tweets. "Going forward, the video will be visible on the service with a sensitive media interstitial and only in cases where the Tweet content does not otherwise violate the Twitter Rules."

McConnell's team quickly celebrated the move, posting a tweet that reads "Victory!!! Thank you to EVERYONE for helping #FreeMitch."

President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers have long accused Twitter and other social media companies of being biased against conservative voices — a charge the companies deny.

The Trump campaign and the national Republican campaign committees had announced Thursday they would stop spending money to advertise on Twitter after it took action against McConnell's account.

POLITICO reported this week that the White House is circulating drafts of a proposed executive order that would address allegations of anti-conservative bias by social media companies.