Facebook, Instagram and Twitter block Donald Trump after Capitol invasion

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have temporarily suspended US President Donald Trump from their social media platforms following posts related to the Capitol invasion on Wednesday, 6 January 2020.

For the first time in history, social media giants are putting a limiting restriction on the account of the US President. The move came after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Washington DC on Wednesday.

This happened while Congress had been gathered to verify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and recount votes.

Facebook vice president of integrity, Guy Rosen, expressed the situation required emergency measures. In a statement, he explained that Trump’s video ‘contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence’.

In the video, the president told supporters that the electoral body stole the election from him. The video came after he gave a speech to supporters in front of the White House urging them to march on the Capitol.

Donald Trump cannot post on Facebook and Instagram for 24 hours after the ban was put in place.

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Meanwhile, Twitter suspended his account for 12 hours after he took down tweets that the platform told him were offensive.

Also, the microblogging site says that if the Donald trump account breaks its rules on civic integrity in future; “[it] will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.”

In addition, Facebook says that following the Capitol invasion, it will take down any call to protest on its platform. This includes calls for peaceful protests that violate the curfew imposed in Washington. It adds that will block the #StormTheCapitol hashtag on its platforms.

The Capitol invasion is currently the most talked-about event on social media and even in the news. At a news briefing on Wednesday, DC police head Robert Contee said;

“One adult female and two adult males appear to have suffered from separate medical emergencies, which resulted in their deaths. Any loss of life in the District is tragic and our thoughts are with anyone impacted by their loss.”

These three deaths are in addition to the woman who was shot at the early stage of the Capitol invasion violence. About 14 members of the Metropolitan Police Department were injured. The police recovered six firearms, two pipe bombs and a cooler of Molotov cocktails.