Trump's tweets in praise of Capitol rioters blocked by Facebook and Twitter

Christopher Wilson
·Senior Writer
·3 min read

In the wake of Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol by followers of President Trump, Facebook and Twitter both deleted a minute-long video posted by Trump praising the rioters and repeating his claim that the election was being stolen from him. Twitter and Facebook haave also temporarily disabled the president’s account.

The mob had rushed the Capitol in an effort to disrupt the formal counting of electoral votes which would seal the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. They had been urged on by Trump and dozens of Republican legislators who announced their intentions to object to the count.

“I know your pain, I know your hurt,” Trump said in the video. “We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side.”

“We have to have peace,” added the president. “So go home. We love you. You’re very special."

“This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump’s video,” announced Guy Rosen, a Facebook official. “We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence.”

Facebook later announced they had disabled the president from posting for 24 hours, stating, “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.”

Approximately an hour later, Twitter also removed the video, along with two other tweets where Trump falsely repeated that the election was stolen and encouraged his supporters who forced a lockdown and evacuation of the Capitol to “remember this day forever.”

“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,” announced Twitter’s Safety account. “This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked. Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.”

Donald Trump
President Trump at a rally on Wednesday to contest the certification of the election results. (Jim Bourg/Reuters)

Trump has posted 56,566 tweets and retweets since 2009 and has 88 million followers, making him the sixth-most-followed individual overall. Barack Obama, with 128 million followers, has the most.

Trump and other Republicans have complained that Twitter and Facebook censor posts that reflect a conservative point of view. Before and since the November election both companies have become more active in labeling Trump’s tweets as disputed or misleading.

D.C. police announced Wednesday evening that a woman who was shot during the siege of the Capitol died from her injuries. Thirteen arrests were made in connection to the day’s events.

Trump had urged his followers to travel to Washington to attend the rally, which he promised would be “wild.” In an hour-long speech on the Ellipse that began at noon, he said, “We’re going to walk down [to the Capitol] and I’ll be there with you. … We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much some of them.”

In fact, Trump returned to the White House after his speech and did not appear again in public except in the video.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:

Latest Stories

  • Sri Lanka vs England: Angelo Mathews’ century boosts hosts after James Anderson’s early flurry

    Sri Lanka 229-4, England yet to bat: Anderson returned to the Test arena with a flourish before Mathews’ measured 107 not out steadied the ship

  • Loon: Google’s balloon-based internet project has finally been shut down

    ‘The road to commercial viability has proven much longer and riskier than hoped’, Alphabet said

  • How to Play Chipotle Stock Right Now

    Jim Cramer told viewers of Mad Money Thursday night that the past 10 months have seen a seismic shift from small- and mid-size business to the biggest retailers and restaurants. Cramer said these smaller businesses can't compete against the now unassailable moats created by their bigger rivals. Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill have almost tripled from their March nadir.

  • Indian farmers reject government offer to delay controversial reforms

    Farmers in India have been protesting since 26 November, bringing major highways to a standstill

  • Schlumberger Off Even as Profit and Revenue Beat Estimates

    CEO Olivier Le Peuch at oil-services giant Schlumberger says the stage is set for oil demand to recover. The shares on Friday are lower.

  • IBM Shares Tumble As Q4 Revenue Slide Mars Solid Earnings Beat

    IBM told investors that it sees 'sustainable' revenue growth once it sheds its legacy infrastructure division later this year, but weaker-than-expected fourth quarter sales have shares deeply in the red following last night's Q4 earnings.

  • No. 3 UConn comes back to top No. 25 Tennessee, 67-61, in nail-biter

    KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Evina Westbrook, who transferred from Tennessee to UConn two years ago, connected on back-to-back fourth-quarter 3-pointers to spark the No. 3 Huskies to a 67-61 victory over the No. 25 Lady Volunteers Thursday night.

  • Biden to sign executive orders increasing food stamps and speeding stimulus checks

    Actions will ‘provide a critical lifeline to millions of American families’

  • Kevin De Bruyne injury: Manchester City midfielder out for four to six weeks with hamstring injury

    De Bruyne suffered hamstring injury in City’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa

  • Consumers warned of 'scalper' bots hoarding must-have products

    Consumers warned of 'scalper' bots hoarding must-have productsCalls for UK ban on software that secures stocks of goods such as Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5

  • Did You Miss This Valuable Info in Netflix's Latest Earnings Report?

    There was a lot of good financial news to report, along with one announcement that will be key to the streaming giant's future.

  • Lilly Completes Acquisition of Prevail Therapeutics

    Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Prevail Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PRVL). The acquisition establishes a new modality for drug discovery and development at Lilly, extending Lilly's research efforts through the creation of a gene therapy program that will be anchored by Prevail's portfolio of clinical-stage and preclinical neuroscience assets.

  • TriWest Adds Symetria Recovery to the Veterans Community Care Network to Provide Outpatient Addiction Services

    El Paso, Texas, Jan. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attributable to a legacy of treating veterans with specialty addiction recovery services, Symetria Recovery is pleased to announce its affiliation with TriWest Healthcare Alliance to care for veterans. TriWest was formed to serve the health care needs of the military and Veteran communities. TriWest was awarded the Community Care Network (CCN) Region 4 contract by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), enhancing access to health care for America’s Veterans in support of the VA’s critical mission. In turn, TriWest added Symetria Recovery as an outpatient provider of addiction recovery services via care strategies orchestrated with the veteran’s primary VA healthcare provider. “The Mission Act, approved by Congress in 2018, allows select providers such as Symetria to open our doors to veterans, enabling them to receive care often closer to where they live and work. Our employees were delighted to work alongside the VA to bring services directly to the communities where veterans and their families live,” states Symetria Recovery CEO Drew McCartney. Symetria Recovery provides outpatient addiction recovery in a uniquely data-proven method combining Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) with Intensive Outpatient (IOP) therapy – all under one roof. Symetria Recovery assigns every Vet a team of care professionals who work together to treat the entire person – including physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral needs, that contribute to a comprehensive and enduring recovery. VA referrals are expedited, every effort is made to see Vet patients on the same day as the referral. Walk-ins are also welcome. Veteran’s loved ones and VA healthcare locations are encouraged to call Symetria Recovery 24/7 at 866-721-2159 with questions. Symetria Recovery Texas Locations include: College Station, 1651 Rock Prairie Road, S 101, College Station, TX 77845Jersey Village, 17347 Village Green, S 104, Houston, TX 77040Spring, 635 Rayford Road, Suite E, Spring, TX 77386Fort Worth, 7229 Hawkins View Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76132Hurst, 1813 Harwood Court, Hurst, TX 76054 Lewisville, 1850 Lakepointe Drive, #400, Lewisville, TX 75057 ### Symetria Recovery is the pioneer and leader in complete, personalized, evidence-based recovery care through outpatient opioid, heroin, and alcohol (all substance abuse) treatment committed to providing state-of-the-art, whole-person care, not just the addictive or dependency behavior. Its unique approach to dependency is known as The Symetria Method. This method combines medication-assisted treatment (MAT), psychiatry, and support from a single treatment team of behavioral health, medical and psychiatric professionals to reduce the risk of relapse and give patients sustainable results. Symetria Recovery’s highly successful outcomes have been validated by an independent, retrospective analysis of more than 1.5 billion commercial claims from 3+ million OUD patients for five years. The analysis demonstrates superior results on all metrics when compared with treatment as usual. Symetria Recovery currently operates six locations in Illinois (Des Plaines, Highland Park, Joliet, Lakeview/Chicago, Naperville, and Palos Heights) and six in Texas (College Station, Fort Worth, Hurst, Jersey Village, Lewisville and Spring). To help patients suffering from a substance use disorder find facilities that deliver quality treatment and care, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) recognizes all six of Symetria Recover’s Illinois locations with its Blue Distinction® Center for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery (BDC Substance Use Treatment and Recovery) designation – a new designation under the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. To learn more, please visit www.symetriarecovery.com. CONTACT: AnnMarie Fauske Symetria Recovery 630-328-2574 afauske@symetriahealth.com

  • DEADLINE TODAY: The Schall Law Firm Announces it is Investigating Claims Against Pinterest, Inc. and Encourages Investors with Losses of $100,000 to Contact the Firm

    DEADLINE TODAY: The Schall Law Firm Announces it is Investigating Claims Against Pinterest, Inc.

  • Bosnian Muslim ex-commander jailed 10 years over war crimes by Islamist fighters

    Bosnia's war crimes court on Friday jailed Bosnian Muslim wartime commander Sakib Mahmuljin for 10 years for failing to prevent or punish atrocities against Serb prisoners by foreign Islamists who fought in the 1990s conflict. Hundreds of Islamist fighters, or "mujahideen", came from North Africa and the Middle East to help the mainly Muslim Bosnian government forces fight separatist Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats during the war, in which 100,000 people died. Mahmuljin, 68, was convicted in a five-year-long trial of failing to prevent or punish killings and inhumane treatment of Serb prisoners of war, some of whom were wounded or ill, and some Serb civilians, the Sarajevo court said.

  • Oil Tumbles With Spread of Demand Pessimism and Firmer Dollar

    (Bloomberg) -- Oil slumped below $52 a barrel in New York as renewed virus lockdowns deepened pessimism over demand, while a stronger dollar reduced the appeal of commodities priced in the currency.Consumption remains precarious, with parts of Hong Kong locking down, some Shanghai residents banned from leaving the city and the U.K. prime minister signaling restrictions may last for months. Traffic in New York fell from a month earlier.Despite the concerns over day-to-day demand, physical crude-buying for the coming months has firmed in recent days. A flurry of purchases by Chinese, Indian and Thai refiners has supported prices, while key swaps tied to the North Sea market are at the strongest level in 10 months. That’s keeping the futures curve in a bullish structure known as backwardation.A pullback in oil futures has been on the cards, with crude trading near its highest level in almost a year. Investors have flocked back to commodities as frigid winter weather and hopes of a big economic stimulus from U.S. President Joe Biden support buying interest. Saudi Arabia’s unilateral output cut also eased oversupply concerns, helping reshape the oil futures curve.“The reflation trade is not dead,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities research at Saxo Bank A/S. “But for now it’s pausing, and that could leave many markets overexposed.”The Biden administration’s initial steps -- including a suspension of the sale of oil and gas leases on federal land, a focus on fiscal spending and a likely delay in lifting sanctions on Iran --- may help tighten the oil market this year and next, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a note. A speedier vaccine rollout could also boost jet-fuel demand, it said.Iran, meanwhile, has started ramping up its oil production and expects to reach pre-sanctions levels in one to two months, according to Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia. The market will be able to accommodate the country’s maximum output of around 3.9 million to 4 million barrels a day, he said. But risks for any buyer remain as long as U.S. sanctions are in place.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Facebook and Amazon set records in annual spending on Washington lobbying

    The spending to influence Washington has come as Big Tech increasingly finds itself in lawmakers and regulators’ cross hairs.

  • Trump is out, but government dysfunction still remains

    First Read is your briefing from "Meet the Press" and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.

  • UPCOMING DEADLINE REMINDER: The Schall Law Firm Announces the Filing of a Class Action Lawsuit Against Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation and Encourages Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 to Contact the Firm

    The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ("SMIC" or "the Company") (OTC: SMICY) for violations of §§10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • $9.3 Billion Automotive Composites (Glass, Carbon, Natural) Market - Global Forecast to 2025 - ResearchAndMarkets.com

    The "Global Automotive Composites Market by Fiber Type (Glass, Carbon, Natural), Resin Type (Thermoset, Thermoplastics), Manufacturing Process (Compression, Injection, RTM), Applications (Exterior, Interior), Vehicle Type and Region - Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.