‘Burn it down’: Calls for violence spread on social media.
As thousands of rioters stormed Washington, D.C., Wednesday inciting violence and locking down the U.S. Capitol, has the time come for social media platforms to silence President Donald Trump?
The Anti-Defamation League says yes. Until Trump can end the violence and unrest that he “promoted” and “incited,” his social media accounts on various platforms should be suspended, “as they would do for anyone else advocating disinformation and promoting violence,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.
“What is happening right now at the Capitol is a direct result of the fear and disinformation that has been spewed consistently from the Oval Office,” Greenblatt said. “President Trump has a responsibility to call for an end to this violence and unrest that he has sowed. His campaign of disinformation is a clear and present danger to our democracy.”
“Extremists” must be held to their word, Greenblatt said. “First there was volatile rhetoric online, then explicit calls to violence and now people are acting on those calls in the nation’s capital and flagrantly breaking the law. It must end now.”
Trump himself has “promoted sedition and incited violence” and he, too, should be held accountable, Greenblatt continued.
Speaking at a news conference broadcast live, President-elect Joe Biden said that “the words of a president matter.” At their best they “inspire” he says, at their worst, they “incite.” He called on Trump to “step up.” Vice President Mike Pence tweeted that the violence at the capitol “Must Stop Now.”
“Peaceful protest is the right of every American but this attack on our Capitol will not be tolerated and those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Pence continued on Twitter.
And many users on social media agreed.
Journalist Kara Swisher called on executives of social media companies including Twitter and Facebook to halt Trump’s tactivity on their platforms as a matter of public safety.
“Let me say in no uncertain terms @jack @vijaya @kayvz: If you do not suspend Donald Trump’s Twitter account for the next day at least, this mob attack on Congress is also on you,” Swisher wrote on Twitter. “Sorry, but he has incited violence for days, using your tools in large part and you need to act now.”
She also tagged in Facebook, noting they need to find a way to “calm” the situation on their platform.
Swisher added that Trump “has no part in calming down the mob he incited — this will be up to the police and the National Guard.”
A riot plays out on social media
Twitter became a forum to watch the rioting play out. As the rioters made their way into the U.S. Capitol, legislators and journalists on hand took cover.
Members of Congress began tweeting to comment on the activity. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., observed that “Looking out of my window, I don’t see protestors. I see Trump-inspired rioters. How were these lawbreakers allowed to shut down the US Congress? If they had been Black or Brown, there would be a far different portrayal. Media stop calling this a protest, this is a riot, clearly!”
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., tweeted that she had “Just evacuated my office in Cannon due to a nearby threat. Now we’re seeing protesters assaulting Capitol Police. ... This is wrong. This is not who we are. I’m heartbroken for our nation today.”
Matt Laslo, managing editor of The
News Station, tweeted that “A reporter is having a panic attack because we’re locked in the Capitol without any police protection, and we hear and feel rumblings underneath us. This is scary folks, especially after being labeled ‘the enemy’ for some 4 years.”
There were images tweeted about what had been reported as an armed standoff on the House floor. Evan McMurry, the senior manager of social media at ABC, tweeted a photo of law enforcement officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress.
CNBC tech reporter Jordan Novet tweeted a Getty Images photo of a person wearing a red “Make America Great” cap sitting at a congressional office desk.
Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted that she was drawing up Articles of Impeachment.
“Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate,” she wrote. “We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath.”
Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Trump could use his Twitter account to calm things down. “The best thing @realdonaldtrump could do right now is to address the nation from the Oval Office and condemn the riots. A peaceful transition of power is essential to the country and needs to take place on 1/20,” he tweeted.
The NAACP retweeted NBA legend Bill Russell who suggested: “How long would it take to deploy the National Guard if they were black & how many would be dead? This is NOT#America! A sitting #President did this @realDonaldTrump #Coward & yes that is a #Confederate flag outside the Senate chamber. How did they not know this would happen?