US Capitol Attack: Twitter Bans Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell

Dozens of QAnon social media accounts were hyping up January 6 and hoped that President-elect Joe Biden's victory would be overturned.

Associated Press

Updated on: 9 January 2021 8:36 am

Twitter has banned President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn and pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell as part of a purge of QAnon accounts following the storming of the US Capitol by a mob of violent Trump supporters.

Social media companies have been under intensified pressure to crack down on hate speech after Wednesday's attack on the Capitol.

Also Read|Meet Vincent Xavier, Indian-Origin Donald Trump Supporter Seen At US Capitol Attack

Dozens of QAnon social media accounts were hyping up January 6 in the days leading up to a Washington DC rally for Trump, expressing hope that President-elect Joe Biden's victory would be overturned.

Twitter said in an email statement on Friday: "Given the renewed potential for violence surrounding this type of behavior in the coming days, we will permanently suspend accounts that are solely dedicated to sharing QAnon content."

Also Read|Will Not Attend President-Elect Joe Biden's Inauguration On Jan 20: Donald Trump

The company says that when it determines a group or campaign is engaged in "coordinated harmful activity", it may suspend accounts that it finds primarily encourages that behaviour.

QAnon is a baseless belief, born on the internet, that Trump has been secretly fighting deep state enemies and a cabal of Satan-worshipping cannibals operating a child sex-trafficking ring.