Donald Trump supporters broke into the Capitol. Twitter threatens to permanently delete his account

On: January 07, 2021

If Trump does not delete messages, his account will be permanently blocked

Following the events that took place at the US Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, Twitter has demanded Donald Trump to remove three tweets that seriously violate Twitter's civil integrity policy.

Twitter temporarily blocked Trump's account, citing "an unprecedented and brutal situation in Washington, DC."

We prohibit attempts to use our services to manipulate or disrupt civil proceedings, including by disseminating false or misleading information about procedures or circumstances related to participation in a civil procedure. In cases where misleading information does not seek to directly manipulate or disrupt social processes but leads to confusion in our services, we may tag tweets to provide additional context. - Twitter

On Wednesday, a group of pro-Trump protesters, including armed men, vandalized and stormed the US Capitol as Congress was preparing to confirm the presidential election. This happened shortly after Trump tried to pressure the vice president against the election results during the Stop Theft rally.

During this time, Trump remained silent, later asking his supporters to "go home", but continued to insist that the elections were "fraudulent" and also called the rioters "special people."

If Trump does not delete these messages, which are marked with warning messages that indicate “risk of violence,” his account will be permanently blocked.

At the time of publication, the police have restored order to the Capitol.

Following the events that transpired at the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, @TwitterSafety has announced that it is requiring that Donald Trump remove three Tweets that severely violated Twitter’s Civic integrity policy.

Twitter has blocked Trump’s account for 12 hours as of around 7PM ET on Wednesday, citing the “unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C.” The following is an excerpt from Twitter’s Civic integrity policy – which was enacted in October in the weeks leading up to the 2020 US Presidential elections:

We believe we have a responsibility to protect the integrity of those conversations from interference and manipulation. Therefore, we prohibit attempts to use our services to manipulate or disrupt civic processes, including through the distribution of false or misleading information about the procedures or circumstances around participation in a civic process. In instances where misleading information does not seek to directly manipulate or disrupt civic processes but leads to confusion on our service, we may label the Tweets to give additional context.

On Wednesday, a group of (some of which were armed) pro-Trump protesters vandalized and forced their way into the U.S. Capitol just as Congress was gearing up to certify the November 2020 Presidential Election results, likely as an attempt to further delay the certification process. This happened shortly after Trump pressured the Vice President to object to the election results, despite the VP’s lack of power to do so, during a “Stop the Steal” rally that took place in D.C. on the same day.

Trump stayed silent during most of the event until he Tweeted a video where he told supporters to “go home”, continued to insist that the election was “fraudulent”, and then referred to the rioters as “very special” people. This is one of the three Tweets that Twitter removed. Prior to their removal, the Tweets were slapped with warning labels that pointed out a “risk of violence” and directed viewers to a fact-checking page about the election results.

If @realDonaldTrump does not remove the three offending Tweets in the allotted time, his account will face a permanent ban.

As of this writing, the Capitol has been secured and the electoral certification has resumed.

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