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Facebook has blocked President Donald Trump “indefinitely,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post Thursday.
Zuckerberg said the company believes the “risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.” Facebook is therefore extending its block that it already had placed on Trump’s account, a ban that will last for at least the next two weeks “until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”
The action comes a day after violent pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol as lawmakers worked to certify the election results showing Joe Biden as the future US president.
As extremists breached the Capitol walls, many called upon Trump to demand his supporters to retreat. In a recorded video, Trump said “go home, we love you, you’re very special,” but did not condemn their actions.
He also used the video to continue to baselessly claim that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent and that he won by a "landslide."
Facebook removed the video because "on balance we believe it contributes the rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence." Twitter responded by removing three of Trump's tweets, including one of the video, and locking his account until he deleted them. Trump has since removed the tweets.
Trump has used Twitter on a regular basis throughout his presidency, opting for the platform as his go-to mouthpiece.
This story is developing...