Getty U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on June 23, 2020.
Twitter flagged a tweet of Donald Trump‘s on Tuesday for violating the social media site’s policy against abusive behavior — “specifically, the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group,” before hiding the tweet under a warning message.
The tweet reads, “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!”
TwitterDonald Trump’s deleted tweet
Earlier in the day, Trump made another strong statement against protestors. Trump said, “I have authorized the federal government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue, or other such federal property in the US with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act.”
…..This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!
He also made a statement on “retroactivity” of punishment on the protesters in Washington D.C. who tried to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park. He said, “Law enforcement did an incredible job. We ran into the place. We were minutes away — it was a sneak attack,” said “We’ve enacted an act. A very specific statute and monument act that puts people in jail for 10 years if you even try to deface one of our monuments and statues.”
President @realDonaldTrump will not let thugs destroy America’s monuments!
Trump’s statement mirrored that of Republican Senator Tom Cotton, of Arkansas, who called for the federal government to punish those looking to remove historical American statues.
Cotton said in a letter to Attorney General William Barr, “Violent mobs have, in recent weeks, defaced and torn down statues, memorials, and monuments around our country. These criminals masquerade as protesters exercising their lawful right to peaceably assemble, but there can be no right to destroy public or private property.”
While Twitter Deleted Trump’s ‘Serious Force’ Tweet, the Message Remains Live on Facebook
FacebookTrump’s official Facebook page displays his hidden tweet.
On Trump’s official Facebook page, which has 28 million like, Trump’s tweet which was deemed as “abusive behavior” remains live as a post.
Facebook has been under fire to make changes to their site since the 2016 election, and last Thursday, the social media network announce it would be removing Trump’s ads for his re-election campaign that were using a Nazi symbol. The ads described “dangerous MOBS of far-left groups” while featuring an upside-down triangle.
Andy Stone, a Facebook spokesperson told CNN Business, “We removed these posts and ads for violating our policy against organized hate. Our policy prohibits using a banned hate group’s symbol to identify political prisoners without the context that condemns or discusses the symbol.”
Twitter Removed Trump’s ‘Racist Baby’ Video Last Week
On Thursday, Trump tweeted out a fake meme video to take down the “fake news” media. The video, which was created by pro-Trump comedian Carpe Donktum, whose real name is Logan Cook, shows a black toddler running away from a white toddler. While scary, suspenseful music plays in the background, the fake CNN ticker tape reads, “Breaking News: Terrified Todler Runs From Racist Baby.”
On Friday afternoon, Jukin Media, a company that represents creators and parents of the toddlers featured in Trump’s tweeted video told CNN it was an unauthorized use of their footage and a clear example of copyright infringement. Twitter has since deleted the video Trump’s Twitter feed.
READ NEXT: Jimmy Kimmel Finally Apologizes for Blackface & Using the N-Word