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US President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump was allowed to tweet again after being blocked from his account for 12 hours.
Before his account was locked, he posted several messages on Wednesday in which he called the “patriots” of people who stormed Capitol Hill. He also reiterated false allegations of electoral fraud.
Trump has been warned by the social media site that he will be banned “permanently” if he breaks the platform’s rules again.
So far he’s playing it safe – only tweeting a video in which he takes a more conciliatory tone and pledges to facilitate a peaceful transition of power.
Other social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and the popular gaming platform Twitch have been more stringent. Twitch put an indefinite ban on Mr. Trump’s channel while Facebook suspended the president from its site and Instagram for the next two weeks.
The people who died in the riot
The total number of deaths linked to Wednesday’s riot has reached five. Aside from the U.S. Capitol Police officer whose death we reported earlier, the other four were Trump supporters attending the march.
Ashli Babbitt, 35, was among the crowd entering the legislature. A Capitol Police statement said an employee fired his service weapon, hitting it “as protesters made their way to the chamber of the House where members of Congress were taking refuge.”
Babbitt was admitted to hospital with a gunshot wound and died later that evening.
The US Air Force veteran described herself as a libertarian and a patriot on social media, where she frequently posted articles about President Trump.
“She had a personality that you either loved or hated,” her ex-husband told NPR. “She didn’t apologize about it… she was proud of it, just as she was proud of her country and proud to be American.”
Also among the dead was Benjamin Phillips, 50, who organized the trip of a group of Pennsylvanians to Washington. A computer programmer, he created a social media channel for Trump supporters.
A member of the group with him in Washington told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he tried to call Phillips as he left, but a police officer came and told him Phillips was dead.
Kevin Greeson, 55, of Alabama, died of a heart attack during the event, his family said. A staunch Trump supporter, he had been active on Talk, a self-proclaimed “free speech” social media site popular with conservatives as an alternative to Twitter.
Greeson’s family said he was “not there to participate in violence or rioting, nor has he condoned such actions.”
They called him a “wonderful father and husband who loved life.”
Police also confirmed the death of Rosanne Boyland, 34, of Georgia. A statement from her brother-in-law Justin Cave said the family are still trying to figure out the details of her death.
“As we watched these horrific events unfold, we hoped Roseanne wasn’t among the crowd. Tragically she was there and it cost her her life, ”he said.
“I never tried to be a political person, but it is my personal belief that the president’s words sparked a riot that killed four of his biggest fans last night,” Mr. Cave said. at a local CBS station.
Credit: The BBC
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