January 8, 2021 | 5:36 pm
Twitter suspended this Friday, permanently, the account of the president of the United States, Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump).
Echoing Facebook’s decision, the company led by Jack Dorsey said it made the decision “due to the risk of further incitement to violence.”
After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.https: //t.co/CBpE1I6j8Y
– Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021
Twitter explained on its blog that it made the decision based on the latest Trump tweets published this Friday, January 8:
The 75,000,000 great American patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE in the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way or form !!!
Shortly after, the president tweeted:
To all who have asked me, I will not go to the Inauguration on January 20
These two tweets should be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the president’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the behavior pattern of this story in recent weeks, “said Twitter on its platform.
They consider that they are likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021, and that there are multiple indicators that they are being received and understood as an encouragement to do so.
