US President Donald Trump has been officially suspended from Twitter for 12 hours after "repeated and severe violations" of the rules of the platform.
While Twitter has faced criticism for not acting in the past, this move appears to have come following a number of tweets concerning violent riots in Washington DC.
In a series of now deleted tweets the President told protesters "I love you" before continuing to make claims about election fraud which have been proven to be false.
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"We have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity Policy," Twitter said in a statement. "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."
The platform - which has been the main channel of public communication for Trump throughout his presidency - also mentioned that future violations could see the account suspended for good.
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. https://t.co/k6OkjNG3bM
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021
"Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account," the statement added.
We’ll continue to evaluate the situation in real time, including examining activity on the ground and statements made off Twitter," it ends.
The President has made no comment on the lock at this time, and it remains unclear which channel he will use to communicate while it is in effect.
Jules Johnston
The Brussels Times
