Twitter temporarily suspended Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green’s account, which won many followers on social media, in part by posting videos and incendiary comments.
Greene, a Republican businesswoman, is the first candidate who expressed support for the groundless and far-right QAnon conspiracy theory to win a seat in the U.S. House. Greene won the contest for Georgia’s 14th congressional district in November after his Democratic opponent withdrew.
On Sunday, she posted a clip of an interview to a local news outlet in which she condemned Georgia’s election officials and expressed support for the unmasked theories, claiming that voting machines, absentee ballots and other issues led to widespread fraud in the during the presidential election.
Twitter responded to the tweet, and others, with a message that called the allegation of electoral fraud “disputed” and saying it represented “a risk of violence”.
A statement by Greene’s team on Sunday included screenshots of Twitter that appeared to show the company informing Congresswoman that it had violated its rules and would be banned from interacting with the site’s content for 12 hours.
Greene said in a statement that his account was suspended “without explanation”.
Greene faced national scrutiny for racist and prejudiced statements and posts in support of QAnon, the baseless conspiracy theory rooted in anti-Semitic tropes whose followers believe Donald Trump is secretly fighting a conspiracy by Democrats, billionaires and celebrities involved in the drug trade. kids.
The FBI has identified the movement as a potential threat from domestic terrorism and has repeatedly inspired vigilante violence.
Last week, Greene wore a mask that said “censored” during his comments on Trump’s second impeachment. Greene was speaking on the floor of the Chamber, during a session broadcast on national television.
Twitter banned Trump last week from his platform, citing “the risk of further incitement to violence” after the deadly US Capitol insurrection on January 6.
As of January 12, the company has also suspended more than 70,000 accounts associated with QAnon, as it tried to contain harmful activities before the presidential inauguration.
Twitter said it is taking action against online behavior “which has the potential to cause harm offline” after the crowd of Trump supporters tried to violently break into the Capitol building.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Greene’s suspension.