The social media site said it took drastic action against the outgoing president because of the “risk of further incitement to violence” if he let him continue to use the platform.
Twitter said it saw “plans for future armed protests” on the website, including “a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021”.
“After a careful analysis 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 to violence,” says Conta Twitter security feature.
Sacha Baron Cohen, who spent days after the Capitol riots in Washington DC calling on social media giants to permanently block Trump, called it “the most important moment in the history of social media”.
He wrote: “The world’s largest platforms have banned the world’s largest provider of lies, conspiracies and hatred. To all the employees, users and supporters of Facebook and Twitter who fought for it – the whole world is grateful! “
On Thursday (January 7), Baron Cohen praised Facebook – a site he has long criticized – for banning Trump “indefinitely”.