Twitter Conceals Trump and White House’s Threats to Minneapolis Protesters for ‘Glorifying Violence’

Twitter hid a tweet from President Trump early Friday that the social media site said broke its rules on “glorifying violence,” then concealed the same tweet again when it was later reposted from the official White House account.

The tweets in question directly threatened demonstrators after a chaotic third day of protests against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Demonstrators are demanding action over the death of the 46-year-old unarmed black man after shocking video footage showed a white police officer kneeling on his neck.

Late Thursday, they took over the Minneapolis Police Department's third precinct and set the building ablaze.

Shortly after midnight, the president threatened to “start shooting” in an incendiary string of tweets. Trump wrote: “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”

Now, instead of showing that tweet, the site displays a disclaimer that users have to click through to be able to see what the president wrote. It states: “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”