Jesse Kelly: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

The conservative commentator Jesse Kelly was permanently banned from Twitter on November 26, in a move that many a calling a “new low” for social media. According to Kelly, Twitter announced his ban on Sunday, telling him that the ban was final and that his account could not be restore. Kelly said that Twitter didn’t give him any reason for the ban.

Kelly, who prides himself on his sarcasm, sent out a statement after the ban in which he compared himself to Nelson Mandela. You can see that above.

Here’s what you need to know about Jesse Kelly:


1. Before His Twitter Ban, Kelly Wrote That the Media Was Silencing ‘Dissenting Voices’

Kelly wrote a piece for the Federalist about what he called the “slippery slope” of censorship. He argued that there is a growing tendency to “silence” voices that differ from mainstream, and often liberal, views. Kelly’s piece was written just after Alex Jones (the conspiracy theorist behind “Infowars”) got banned from Twitter, YouTube, and other social media outlets. Kelly wrote the piece as a rallying call, urging other conservatives to sit up and take notice. He warned that the Alex Jones ban was just the beginning of a larger move to censor anyone with conservative views. Kelly noted that he didn’t much like Alex Jones either — but said that conservatives should stand strong against censorship online.

He wrote, “Many on the left and the right gave a loud cheer last week when Alex Jones was banished from Facebook. Twitter later suspended him. While it is not surprising to see the jackals on the left cheer at the burning of books, one would hope folks on the right would look in the mirror and realize their time is coming soon. The leftists will not stop (and did not stop) at nutty Alex Jones, because they do not think you are much different from him.”


2. Kelly Was a Combat Veteran Who Served in the Marine Corps for Four Years

 

Jesse Kelly served in the Marine Corps from 2000 to 2004. He served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he saw combat.

He currently hosts a show — the Jesse Kelly Show — on iHeart Radio.

After his Twitter ban, many conservatives expressed anger that Kelly, a combat veteran, had been banned from social media. At the same time, Kelly’s critics described him as a “misogynist and a neo-confederate who lusts for violence,” arguing that “discourse is healthier without him.” You can read Kelly’s own response to the Twitter ban here.


3. Kelly Ran for Congress in Arizona Several Times

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In 2010, Kelly mounted his first run for Congress, as the Republican candidate up against Democratic incumbent Gabbrielle Giffords. He narrowly lost that race, and then tried again to win the Republican nomination in 2012. Finally, later in 2012, Kelly ran in the special election to fill the seat that had been left vacant by Giffords. The Democrat, Ron Barber, eventually won that race.


4. Twitter Said it Suspended Kelly’s Account for ‘Multiple or Repeated Violations’ but Didn’t Specify What the Violations Were

Twitter announced that it was banning Kelly on Sunday evening. Of course, the announcement came by tweet. (You can see the tweet, which Kelly shared with the Daily Wire, above.) The company told Kelly that his account was being suspended for “multiple or repeated violations” of the rules — but did not specify which rules had been broken, according to Kelly. The message that Twitter sent also made it clear that the ban is final, with no possibility of appeal.

“Your account will not be restored. Please do not respond to this email as replies and new appeals for this account will not be monitored.”


5. The Front Page of John Kelly’s Site Explains Why ‘Trump Is the Greatest Politician Ever’

John Kelly is not an unequivocal Trump fan. He admits that he has doubt about some of the president’s policies and manouvers. But Kelly writes that Trump is absolutely “the greatest politician ever,” one of the few who is able to adapt to the fast-pased, relentless environment of today’s news cycle.

Kelly writes about Trump’s “audacity” and his ability to keep pushing boundaries. He writes, “One of the true marks of greatness is doing things that have not been done before. Many people can take what the last guy did and try to duplicate or improve on it. Very few people can take the rule book, throw it in the fire, and write a whole new one. Trump has done that and it confounds his critics to this day. “But…but…but…he can’t do that!!””

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