US president Donald Trump was permanently banned from Twitter on Friday because of a “risk of further incitement of violence”.
Less than two weeks before the inauguration of president-elect Joe Biden, the social media company removed the commander-in-chief after rioters overtook the Capitol on Wednesday, leading to the deaths of at least four people.
The US president had more than 88 million followers on the platform, which he had used as his springboard to the White House.
A statement posted on Twitter’s blog said it had “made it clear” previously that the president’s account was “not above our rules”, and said it took action “in the context of horrific events” earlier this week.
On Wednesday, Twitter temporarily blocked Trump’s account following the siege of Capitol Hill by pro-Trump protesters, and warned that additional violations by the president’s accounts would result in a permanent suspension.
Late on Friday, Twitter said two of Trump’s tweets posted during the day had violated its glorification of violence policy.
They were “The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!” and “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th”.
The statement said: “After close review of recent tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically 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.
“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.
“However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules entirely and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things.
“We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement.”