Twitter slaps 'glorifying violence' warning on Trump's 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts' tweet

You can still read President Trump's early-Friday tweet about sending the National Guard into Minneapolis if you go to his Twitter feed, but you now have to take an extra step to read the follow-up tweet threatening: "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." That's because Twitter replaced it with this note: "This tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public's interest for the tweet to remain accessible." You can click the warning to read the tweet.

Minneapolis is engulfed in chaotic protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed and handcuffed black man apparently killed by a white police officer who kneeled on his neck for eight minutes. There has been looting and fires, including at a breached police station. Gov. Tim Walz (D) activated the National Guard on Thursday afternoon.

Twitter's intervention came hours after Trump signed an executive order targeting Twitter and other social media companies in response to Twitter adding a note to two of his tweets with an exclamation point and a hyperlink reading: "Get the facts about mail-in ballots."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up