Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
- The San Francisco police department (SFPD) is preparing for a potential pro-Trump demonstration outside Twitter’s headquarters on Monday morning.
- The SFPD has been in contact with Twitter representatives and will have enough resources to respond to demonstrations, a spokesperson told the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Users on a far-right internet forum have told attendees to wear MAGA hats, masks, and sunglasses to hide their identities.
- A Twitter spokesperson said: “While we respect people’s right to express their views, we’ve been transparent about the factors leading up to our decision last week.”
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
San Francisco police are preparing for the possibility of a pro-Trump rally at Twitter’s headquarters on Monday in response to the social media platform booting off President Donald Trump.
A spokesperson from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPF) told the San Francisco Chronicle that they were aware of the possibility of a demonstration on the 1300 block of Market Street, where Twitter’s HQ is, on Monday.
Following the insurrection of the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob on Wednesday, in which five people died, Twitter permanently suspended Trump from accessing his account. Trump had, for weeks, falsely declared the presidential election stolen from him. On the day, he urged rioters to “go home,” but said they were “very special.”
Twitter said it had suspended his account “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
SFPD had been in contact with representatives from Twitter and would have sufficient resources to respond to demonstrations and calls for assistance across the city, the spokesperson said.
The Chronicle reported that Trump supporters were discussing Monday's potential protests on a far-right internet forum called TheDonald.win.
One user on the forum posted on Saturday that those attending should bring megaphones, whistles, body cameras, and carry big zip ties with them to "citizen arrest violent agitators," the Chronicle reported. Other users suggested protesters wear MAGA hats, masks, and sunglasses to hide their identities, it reported.
The forum was created as a successor to the r/The_Donald community on Reddit, which was banned in June 2020.
A Twitter spokesperson told Insider the company's highest priority was workers' safety and "while we respect people's right to express their views, we've been transparent about the factors leading up to our decision last week."
After indefinitely blocking Trump, Twitter warned Friday night in a blog post that the president's tweet that he was not attending the Biden inauguration could encourage supporters to cause trouble.
Twitter also said there were "plans for future armed protests" on January 17th in Washington DC and state capitals around the country.
The Twitter headquarters in San Francisco have been left empty since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. CEO Jack Dorsey told employees in May that they could keep working from home indefinitely, even after COVID-19 lockdowns end.