Unhinged lefty protesters have descended upon Washington D.C. and they gathered in Lafayette Park again, which is near the White House. Their goal: to topple the statue of Andrew Jackson, one of our finest presidents. Unlike other statues across the country, law enforcement moved in to prevent its destruction. Our own Julio Rosas had just hopped off a plane from Atlanta and quickly went to cover these antics. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt tweeted, “I just left Lafayette Square where another so-called “peaceful protest” led to destruction tonight. Let me be clear: we will not bow to anarchists. Law and order will prevail, and justice will be served.”
Another fire was started in the street. They told someone with a camera to put it down to stop filming. pic.twitter.com/uAq2HnItTf
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) June 23, 2020
President Trump vowed not to allow what occurred in Seattle, where far-left activists seized portions of the city, creating an autonomous zone. Katie wrote about it today. Trump vowed “There will never be an ‘Autonomous Zone’ in Washington, D.C., as long as I’m your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!”
There will never be an “Autonomous Zone” in Washington, D.C., as long as I’m your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2020
We’ve placed a public interest notice on this Tweet for violating our policy against abusive behavior, specifically, the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group.https://t.co/AcmW6O6d4t
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) June 23, 2020
Per our policies, this Tweet will remain on the service given its relevance to ongoing public conversation.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) June 23, 2020
Engagements with the Tweet will be limited. People will be able to Retweet with Comment, but not Like, Reply, or Retweet it.
— Siraj Hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) June 23, 2020
To be clear, this is a tweet from the President acknowledging that the U.S. government will use force to uphold the law. https://t.co/90euVumBRJ
— Andrew Clark (@AndrewHClark) June 23, 2020
The president authorized law enforcement to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys statues or monuments on federal property. He’s enforcing the law and apparently, those tweets caused Twitter to censor Trump’s thread on the matter.
.....This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2020
“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about abusive behavior. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible,” read the citation.
This isn’t the first time Trump has been censored by the social media giant. During the Minneapolis riots in the aftermath of the officer-involved death of George Floyd on May 25, the president wrote, “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
That was considered to be glorifying violence—a standard that could never be policed fairly on this platform. And yes, Slate and The Nation both wrote pieces either giving violent protest a pass or defending the destruction of property and shared them on Twitter. Isn’t that a violation of this arbitrary standard?