Twitter bars Alex Jones and Infowars, citing harassment messages

"They ban people outright and block the conservatives involved in their political speech on the first amendment," he said.

Jones also broadcast a video of himself on Periscope Wednesday, insulting CNN reporter Oliver Darcy. Mr. Darcy had already reported tweets from Mr. Jones that appeared to violate Twitter's policies.

The video of Mr. Jones' harassing behavior towards Mr. Darcy was among the documents considered by Twitter before deciding on the bans, according to a person informed of the situation, who was not allowed to speak in public .

In his Periscope show on Thursday, Mr. Jones defended his behavior against Mr. Darcy, claiming that the CNN reporter was a public figure and that he had intimidated technology companies to prevent Mr. Jones. He suggested, without proof, that Twitter had forbidden him to protect CNN and Mr. Darcy because the press organization was part of a government conspiracy.

"CNN is part of this C.I.A. network that I have set up, which Obama has put in place, which we are talking to the president," Jones said.

Mr. Darcy returned requests for comments to a CNN spokesperson, who declined to comment.

Twitter said it followed routine procedures by permanently suspending the accounts of Mr. Jones and Infowars. The company typically issues temporary suspensions, such as the one Mr. Jones received last month, before banning.

Mr. Jones is one of Twitter's most prominent personalities. In 2016, the company banned Milo Yiannopoulos, former editor of Breitbart, from participating in an online harassment campaign against actress Leslie Jones. Another former Breitbart editor, Chuck Johnson, was suspended for threatening civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson. Twitter also bans hate groups like the US Nazi Party and Golden Dawn, an ultra-nationalist organization based in Greece.

In a final tweet before the disappearance of his Twitter account, Mr. Jones posted a photo of him sitting behind Mr. Dorsey at Congressional hearings on Wednesday. In the photo, there was the hashtag #FreeAlexJones.