Twitter says Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suspended ‘in error’; Dems push to expel her from Congress

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is seen on the House steps during the vote on the $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan Act, on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty ImagesTwitter said Friday it mistakenly suspended the account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who is facing a push from dozens of House Democrats to expel her from Congress.The social media giant, which had previously suspended the conspiracy-embracing lawmaker’s account, said that the most recent lockout had been lifted.”We use a combination of technology and human review to enforce the Twitter Rules across the service,” a spokesperson for the company told CNBC in a statement.”In this case, our automated systems took enforcement action on the account referenced in error,” the statement said. “This action has been reversed, and access to the account has been reinstated.”Greene, who has previously promoted the baseless pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy and supported calls for violence against Democrats, said earlier Friday in a campaign message that Twitter suspended her account around 1 a.m. “without explanation.”Greene’s account was set to be locked for 12 hours, according to that campaign message.Greene’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Twitter’s statement that the suspension was made in error.Twitter had previously temporarily suspended Greene in January for spreading misinformation.Greene’s office raised suspicions about the timing of the social media giant’s latest action, which came hours before Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., introduced a resolution to expel Greene from Congress. There was no immediate evidence to back up those suspicions, but Greene repeated them later Friday from her newly restored account.Gomez on Friday morning said on the House floor that “I believe some of my Republican colleagues, and one in particular, wish harm upon this legislative body.””I’m not saying this for shock value,” Gomez said. “It’s the conclusion I drew after a member of Congress advocated violence against our peers, the speaker and our government.”A Gomez spokesman told CNBC that 72 House Democrats have co-sponsored his one-page resolution, which simply states that “pursuant to article 1, section 5, clause 2 of the United States Constitution, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, be, and she hereby is, expelled from the House of Representatives.”The co-sponsors include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Eric Swalwell and Maxine Waters of California, and Joaquin Castro of Texas.Gomez on Friday directly tied Greene’s most controversial past statements, many of which were made before she took office, to the deadly invasion of the Capitol on Jan. 6 by a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters.”It is what I believed after this chamber was turned into a crime scene just 10 weeks ago. It’s how many of us felt sheltering in this room as the Capitol was breached. Some members called their loved ones to say goodbye, others prayed to their God, and I asked myself if this would be the day our democracy died,” Gomez said.”I take no joy in introducing this resolution, but any member who incites political violence and threatens our lives must be expelled, and I’ll do everything I can in my power to protect our democracy and keep all my colleagues safe,” he said.Gomez in late January had shared plans to draft a resolution for Greene’s expulsion, saying at the time, “her very presence in office represents a direct threat against the elected officials and staff who serve our government.”In February, the House voted to strip Greene of her committee assignments. All Democrats and 11 Republicans supported that resolution.Shortly before it passed, Greene had expressed some regret for spreading false conspiracy claims, including QAnon and her reported suggestion that some school shootings had been staged.


Source link