Conservative Laura Loomer banned from Twitter after criticizing Muslim Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar
Laura Loomer banned from Twitter after criticizing Ilhan
Omar
The far-right activist had more than 260,000 followers on
the platform before her suspension.
By Linda Givetash Nov. 22, 2018 / 5:01 AM
PST / Updated 5:10 AM PST
Far-right activist Laura Loomer became the latest
conservative figure to be kicked off Twitter when her account was shut down
Wednesday.
Loomer said she was told by the platform that her account
violated its rules against hateful conduct after she sent a tweet criticizing
Minnesota Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and her Muslim faith.
"I've been silenced in America," Loomer
said in a video posted to YouTube in response to the Twitter ban. She
had more than 260,000 followers on the social-media platform before her
suspension.
In the tweet in question, Loomer called Omar "anti
Jewish" and said she is a member of a religion in which "homosexuals
are oppressed" and "women are abused" and "forced to wear
the hijab." Omar is the first Somali refugee and among two of the
first Muslim women to be elected to Congress.
Loomer insisted that she did not violate Twitter's terms.
"Everything I said is 100 percent true and factual. It's not malicious,
it's not mean, it's not hateful," she said.
Twitter has taken aim at far-right activists and groups
in recent months, banning conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and website
Infowars in September.
Milo Yiannopoulos, the former Breitbart editor who
was banned from Twitter two years ago, called the suspension against
Loomer "political warfare."
"She was banned for criticizing an elected
politician," he said on Facebook.
Twitter did not immediately comment on its decision to
ban Loomer.
On its website, Twitter says it is dedicated to
making the platform "a safe place for free expression" and prohibits
"abusive behavior."
Loomer was last year blocked from using ride-hailing
services Uber and Lyft after she posted a series of anti-Muslim tweets in
response to a terrorist attack in New York.
Loomer, who touts herself as an investigative journalist,
said her Twitter suspension is a threat to the First Amendment.
In Wednesday's YouTube video, she pleaded to President
Donald Trump to take action.
"If you want to win in 2020 you have to ensure your
supporters have a voice on social media," Loomer said.
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