Facebook, Twitter block Donald Trump after Capitol Hill assault

Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have taken the unprecedented step of suspending U.S. President Donald Trump from the platforms after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday.

Twitter was the first to announce its decision, saying it has locked the president’s account for 12 hours.

The move came after Twitter removed three of the president’s tweets, saying the posts were “repeated and severe violations” of the platform’s Civic Integrity policy.

Twitter cited the “unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington D.C.,” as its justification for removing the posts.

As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy. https://t.co/k6OkjNG3bM

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021

According to Twitter Safety, Trump’s account will be locked for 12 hours.

“If the tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked,” a tweet from the platform said, adding that future violations could result in “permanent suspension” of the account.