Twitter permanently suspends Trump's account; he posts plans for 'our own platform'

SALT LAKE CITY — Twitter announced Friday evening that President Donald Trump's personal account has been permanently suspended "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."

"In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action," the social media platform posted from its Twitter Safety account.

In response to having his @realDonaldTrump account suspended, Trump sent a series of tweets from the @POTUS account that have since been removed, saying that he would look into building his own social media platform.

"We have been negotiating with various other sites, and we will have a big announcement soon ... while we also look at the possibilities of building out our own platform in the near future. We will not be SILENCED!" he wrote.

CNN reported that Twitter will not suspend Trump's government accounts.

"If it is clear that another account is being used for the purposes of evading a ban, it is also subject to suspension," Twitter told CNN in a statement. "For government accounts, such as @POTUS and @WhiteHouse, we will not suspend those accounts but will take action to limit their use. However, these accounts will be transitioned over to the new administration in due course and will not be suspended by Twitter unless absolutely necessary to alleviate real-world harm."

Trump's account was temporarily suspended for 12 hours Wednesday after he released a video and statement asking rioters to go home but continued to spread misinformation about widespread voter fraud.

"I know your pain. I know you're hurt. We had an election stolen from us; it was a landslide election, and everyone knows it — especially the other side. But you have to go home now," he said, in part, in a message directed at protesters rioting in the U.S. Capitol, and continued on to add, "We love you. You're very special."

After Twitter, along with Facebook and Youtube, removed the video, Trump released a statement promising an "orderly" transition of power after Congress voted to certify the Electoral College votes that made Joe Biden the winner.

Trump posted another video on Thursday afternoon acknowledging that a new administration will take charge on Jan. 20. That statement has also been removed from the social media platform.

Before his account was suspended, Trump's last tweet read, "to all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th." Biden responded by saying Trump's refusal to attend was "one of the few things we agree on."

Twitter said its platform is designed to "enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly," however it has made the decision to enforce its policies preventing the app from being used to "incite violence."

Facebook, along with Instagram, "indefinitely" locked Trump's account on Thursday.

"We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great," Zuckerberg wrote in the post. "Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete."

Many of Trump's tweets leading up to and following the presidential election have been flagged for misinformation on widespread voter fraud with no sufficient evidence. Just before Wednesday's riot, Trump sent out several tweets pressuring Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election.

Donald Trump Jr. tweeted his disappointment in the suspension of his father's account on Friday saying that, "Mao would be proud."

Also Friday, Google announced it has suspended Parler, a social networking site with a significant base of Trump supporters, from the Play Store until the app adds "robust" content moderation, Reuters reported. If Trump were to create his own social media site, it could face similar restrictions from app stores as Parler if it lacked content moderation.

"For us to distribute an app through Google Play, we do require that apps implement robust moderation for egregious content," Google wrote in a statement. "In light of this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we are suspending the app's listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues."

Parler is known for allowing users to post to the site without "fear of being deplatformed," a feature that has attracted many conspiracy theorists and right-wing extremists after being banned from Twitter.

Apple also issued a 24-hour warning to Parler to submit a moderation plan and to "remove all objectionable content." Reuters reports that a letter from Apple cited instances of Parler being used by Trump supporters to make additional plans to gather in Washington, D.C., for similar mobs and weaponized demonstrations.

"Content that threatens the well-being of others or is intended to incite violence or other lawless acts has never been acceptable on the App Store," the letter says.

Contributing: Ashley Fredde, KSL.com

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