San Francisco police were preparing for a possible pro-Trump demonstration at Twitter headquarters on Monday, days after the social media company banned President Trump, citing the risk that he will incite more violence after the riot of last week at the US Capitol.
The San Francisco Police Department was aware of a possible protest taking place on Block 1300 on Market Street, a spokesman said. Police said they are in contact with representatives of the technology company and will have sufficient resources to respond to demonstrations and requests for assistance across the city.
A Twitter spokesman – whose employees have been working from home since the early days of the pandemic – said the company’s highest priority was worker safety.
“While we respect people’s right to express their opinions, we have been transparent about the factors that led to our decision last week,” said the spokesman by email.
The police declined to answer whether there was any indication that the protesters were coming from outside the area or how many they expected to attend. They said the policy prohibits discussions about police planning, tactics and strategy.
Posts on TheDonald.win – an extreme right-wing independent Internet forum created as a successor to the now banned r / The_Donald community on Reddit – asked supporters to gather outside Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters on Monday morning to protest the Trump ban by the company. The Reddit community was banned in June 2020 for harassing and attacking other users.
In a Saturday post, a user advised participants to bring megaphones and whistles, use body cameras and carry “large” zippers with them for “citizens to arrest violent agitators”. Others suggested that people wear masks, sunglasses and MAGA hats to hide their identities.
Several companies in the area near Twitter headquarters told The Chronicle on Sunday that they planned to keep their scheduled business hours on Monday. San Francisco City Hall, located just a few blocks from the Twitter building, has been mostly closed for months because of the pandemic. Usually, only one of its entrances is open and few city officials still work there regularly.
By permanently suspending the @realDonaldTrump account, which had tens of millions of followers, Twitter cited several violations of community rules and the possibility that future content tweeted by President Trump may incite further violence.
“Our public interest framework exists to allow the public to hear directly from elected officials and world leaders,” said Twitter in a blog post Friday. “However, for years we have made it clear that these accounts are not entirely above our rules and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things.”
On Wednesday, a crowd urged by Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, breaching security perimeters and looting property in a siege that left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer. Police officers continued to arrest suspected participants, even after they dispersed across the country.
Trump’s presidency was defined by his speeches on Twitter and his use of the platform to downgrade and intimidate his enemies, offer political endorsements and fire members of his administration. For many American officials and the public, their tweets were the equivalent of White House ads.
“We must give credit to Donald Trump for understanding that he could deploy or use this technology more effectively than his opponents to bring his supporters together,” said Steven Weber, professor of political science at the University of Berkeley’s School of Information. “When technology is a level playing field, anyone can use it. And it is common for the most ruthless people to use it more effectively. “
Chronicle team writer JD Morris contributed to this report.
Vanessa Arredondo is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @v_anana