Twitter announced that it has permanently removed the account of outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump because of the risk of "further incitement" of violence after hundreds of his loyalists barged into the U.S. Capitol, BBC and other news organizations reported on Saturday.
Trump's account, with 88 million followers, was initially removed for 12 hours on Wednesday as a result of a serious breach of the social network's Civic Integrity policy after the president used the platform to lambast Vice President Mike Pence as his supporters assaulted the Capitol building in the midst of chaotic scenes in which at least five people perished.
"In the context of the horrific events this week, we made it clear that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action," Twitter said in the announcement quoted by CNN and other sources.
Some U.S. legislators and Hollywood celebrities have for years called on Twitter to remove Trump's social media account. Hundreds of Twitter staff also recently signed a letter calling on Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey to ban Trump for using the site to incite disorder in the aftermath of the Capitol siege.
In a Thursday tweet, former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama commented that the Silicon Valley companies should stop enabling the president's "monstrous behavior" and permanently ban him.
Twitter's decision follows Facebook's action Thursday to ban Trump for an indefinite period. Facebook cited the risks to Trump continuing to use the social media platform, whose suspension will last for at least the next two weeks until after President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated into office.
The mayhem caused by angry pro-Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol triggers widespread denouncement of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Trump said that he's been negotiating with other social media companies, which he did not divulge and would have a "big announcement" coming soon. The president added that he is also considering putting up his own platform. "We won't be SILENCED!" he commented, telling his backers to "STAY TUNED!"
Trump came back to Twitter Thursday with a video clip acknowledging that Biden would be the next U.S. commander in chief and said his priority now is the smooth transition of power to the next administration.
But on Friday, Trump had a totally different tone and posted a string of tweets, including one in which he stated he would not be present when Biden takes his oath on January 20 and one in which he referred to his loyalists as "patriots."
