Twitter has locked United States President Donald Trump's account for 12 hours and warned for the first time that it may suspend him permanently if there are "further violations".
Locked out of social media accounts
Trump's Twitter account was locked after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington DC, protesting election results which saw the Democrats winning the House of Representatives, Senate, and the White House.
The temporary suspension was due to Trump's violation of Twitter rules, the social media giant said.
"We have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity Policy," Twitter said, according to CNN.
"This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked."
"Future violations... will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account," Twitter warned.
In addition to Trump's Twitter lock, Facebook has also issued a 24-hour feature block on the president's Facebook page, preventing Trump from posting on the platform during the period.
Head of Facebook-owned Instagram Adam Mosseri also announced on Twitter that Trump's Instagram will be locked for 24 hours as well.
Facebook did not clarify whether Trump could face a permanent suspension if the president continues to violate Facebook policies, reported CNN.
Along with Facebook, YouTube has also removed Trump's video in which he addressed his supporters, urging Capitol protesters to "go home" but still telling them he loves them and that they are "very special".
Trump held rally in in DC before breach of Capitol Building
Protesters had broken into the U.S. Senate Chamber in the early hours of Jan. 7 (Singapore time), interrupting the counting of the Electoral College votes of the 2020 U.S. elections.
According to The Washington Post, some of the protesters had earlier attended a rally by Trump, where he baselessly claimed that there was "theft" involved, and said he would not be conceding the election.
However, they left the site of the rally and began marching on the Capitol.
The protesters then broke into the Capitol itself, according to Igor Bobic, a Huffington Post political reporter.
There were violent clashes between the protesters and police within the building itself.
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