Twitter has banned a Florida Republican candidate from the platform after a tweet that encouraged the killing of federal agents, as reported by Florida Politics on Friday.
Luis Miguel is campaigning in the Republican primary to represent Florida’s 20th district in the state House of Representatives. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its justification for the ban.
Miguel’s threat comes amid intense GOP hostility toward the FBI and IRS, spurred by the federal raid on Mar-a-Lago and Congress’ recent move to increase tax enforcement. But Miguel’s tweet went beyond criticisms of the agencies, calling for armed violence against their employees.
“Under my plan, all Floridians will be able to shoot FBI, IRS, ATF, and all other federal troops ON SIGHT,” the message read. “Let freedom ring.”
Florida Politics found the same statement posted to Miguel’s Facebook and Instagram pages, although the posts have since been removed and his profiles remain active. Facebook and Instagram did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Platforms have been under particular pressure to moderate anti-government threats in the wake of an armed gunman’s attack on the Cincinnati office of the FBI. The gunman, who was killed by police after a standoff, had made extensive threats against the agency on Trump’s Truth Social network.
On the same day as Miguel’s ban, members of Congress requested information from Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms on their work countering the ongoing threats against law enforcement. Among other questions, the lawmakers asked how many such threats had been detected on the platforms and how many of those threats were subsequently removed.
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