Facebook, Twitter LOCK Trump's accounts, remove video address out of concerns it would incite violence

Thomas Catenacci, dcnf

Facebook and Twitter announced they had removed President Donald Trump’s video message addressing mob violence in Washington D.C. Wednesday over concerns it would incite violence.

Facebook removed Trump’s taped video address because it would’ve contributed to, rather than diminish violence that has occurred throughout the day Wednesday, Guy Rosen, the company’s vice president of integrity, tweeted Wednesday evening.

“This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump’s video,” Rosen said. “We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence.”

This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump's video. We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence.

— Guy Rosen (@guyro) January 6, 2021

Twitter later removed the video message from their platforms as well, ABC News reported. Prior to removing, Twitter tagged a warning message on the president’s tweet saying it was locked because of a “risk of violence.”

YouTube also pulled the video from Trump’s channel because it “violated our policies regarding content that alleges widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. Election,” said Farshad Shadloo, the company’s head of policy communications, in a statement.

Earlier, Trump addressed a large crowd of supporters as part of the “Save America” rally, repeating past claims that the November presidential election was rigged and fraudulent.

Following his speech, many from the crowd formed a mob and stormed the Capitol. A woman was reportedly shot in the neck during the mayhem after the crowd breached the Capitol building.

Trump then posted a taped video message on Twitter and Facebook calling for peace hours after the rioting at the Capitol began.

“We have to have peace,” Trump said in the message. “We have to have law and order.”

“It’s a very tough period of time,” he continued. “There’s never been a time like this where they could take [the election] away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country.”

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