On Friday, conservative commentator Candace Owens was suspended from Twitter over a post slamming “dictator” Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and encouraging Michigan protesters to go back to work even if they are deemed so-called “non-essential.”
“Apparently [Whitmer] believes she is a duly elected dictator of a socialist country,” Owens wrote in the now-removed tweet. “The people of Michigan need to stand up to her. Open your businesses. Go to work. The police think she’s crazy too. They are not going to arrest 10,000,000 people for going to work.”
Reporter Benny Johnson posted a screenshot of the tweet with the caption, “Candace Owens has been suspended from Twitter.
Candace tweeted that people in Michigan should go back to work. What rule did she break? Not even Twitter can say.”
“Candace Owens tells people to work and gets cancelled but [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)] can tell people *not* to work and all good,” he added.
🚨ALERT🚨
Candace Owens has been suspended from Twitter.
Candace tweeted that people in Michigan should go back to work.
What rule did she break?
Not even Twitter can say.Candace Owens tells people to work and gets cancelled but AOC can tell people *not* to work and all good pic.twitter.com/4tCH3ibUcW
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 2, 2020
Owens has since responded to the Twitter suspension, telling The Washington Examiner that she “unequivocally” stands by “every single word.”
“I unequivocally stand by every single word of my tweet,” Owens told the Examiner. “If Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can use Twitter’s platform to encourage workers to walk out and boycott — I should be allowed to encourage lawful citizens to resume work. The only person breaking any laws is governor-turned-dictator Gretchen Whitmer, who is impoverishing millions, ignoring the votes of her state legislature, and as a result, rolling over the constitutionally protected rights of Michigan citizens.”
“Twitter was unable or unwilling to provide me with any specific rule that I violated, which is why I have appealed their decision. While I am not an expert on Twitter TOS, I cannot see how suggesting people ought to work would be a violation of anything other than socialist reverie,” the commentator added.
Some on social media came to Owens’ defense, including eldest Trump son Donald Trump Jr. “Heard from my friend [Candace Owens] that she got banned from [Twitter] for simply telling the people of [Michigan] they should go to work,” he wrote.“If the Social Media Masters ban you for that [without] an explanation, imagine what they’ll do to try to influence the election given their politics!”
Heard from my friend @RealCandaceO that she got banned from @Twitter for simply telling the people of #Michigan they should go to work.
If the Social Media Masters ban you for that w/o an explanation, imagine what they’ll do to try to influence the election given their politics!
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 2, 2020
Allie Beth Stuckey of BlazeTV slammed Twitter, writing Sunday, “The suspension of [Candace Owens] for stating a perfectly valid political opinion goes to show that Twitter, an American company made possible by American freedom [and] ingenuity, shares many more values with Communist China than it does with us.”
The suspension of @RealCandaceO for stating a perfectly valid political opinion goes to show that Twitter, an American company made possible by American freedom & ingenuity, shares many more values with Communist China than it does with us.
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) May 3, 2020
According to the Examiner, a representative from Twitter said Owens’ tweet “violated the specific guideline that forbids the ‘denial of […] government body recommendations to decrease an individual’s likelihood of exposure to COVID-19 with the intent to influence users into acting contrary to recommended guidance.'”
The platform will not reinstate Owens until she deletes the tweet in question, the spokeswoman added.
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