Twitter locks Trump's account for 12 hours, Facebook blocks him from posting for 24 hours
WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - Twitter locked President Donald Trump out of his account for "12 hours" on Wednesday and deleted many of his recent Tweets. Meanwhile, Facebook later announced he will be blocked from posting for 24 hours.
The crackdown came shortly after he released a video via Twitter at around 4 p.m. asking protesters to leave the Capitol building after they'd stormed it earlier on Wednesday.
Twitter has since blocked the ability to reply, like, or retweet the president's video due to "a risk of violence."
The social media platform went a step farther later when it began deleting most of the president's recent Tweets.
It also said it would lock him out permanently if he persisted in violating "Twitter rules."
Facebook also removed the video Wednesday evening.
Later, Facebook announced they are blocking Trump from posting for 24 hours, according to a New York Times reporter.
"We've assessed two policy violations against President Trump's Page which will result in a 24-hour feature block, meaning he will lose the ability to post on the platform during that time," a Facebook spokesman said Wednesday.
In the video, the president maintained his claim that the 2020 election result was fraudulent, reiterating that assertion in another Tweet later in the evening.
"You have to go home now," the president said. "Go home in peace."
The statement was an expansion of his earlier request for protesters to "remain peaceful."
READ MORE: Pro-Trump protesters storm Capitol building; Electoral College debate halted
As he faced growing pressure from allies to condemn the violence Wednesday afternoon, Trump tweeted, "No violence!" adding: "Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue."
But Trump did not ask supporters to vacate the area as the unrest continued.
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Trump had appeared earlier at a rally and had urged his supporters to march to the Capitol — at one point even suggesting he would join them. He is upset that he lost the presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden and has falsely claimed voter fraud to explain it away.
READ MORE: One person shot in US Capitol after pro-Trump protesters charge building, source says
He also urged his supporters to "get rid of the weak Congress people" — presumably through primary challenges — saying, "get the weak ones get out; this is the time for strength."