Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts blocked ‘indefinitely’ after Capitol riots

MARK ZUCKERBERG HAS announced that Facebook and Instagram have blocked Donald Trump’s accounts “indefinitely” following yesterday’s riots in the Capitol buildings in Washington DC.

In a statement released this afternoon, Zuckerberg said: “We believe that the risks of allowing the president to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.”

Yesterday, protesters who believed the US elections had been “stolen” turned into a mob that stormed the Capitol building and occupied offices.

Violence also erupted as the United States Senate and House were approving the electoral college votes of all 50 states and sealing the outcome of the November elections.

A woman died of a gunshot wound during the assault on the Capitol after police shot her. Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said three other people had died in the area around the Capitol yesterday, but did not link those deaths to the violence. The deaths were described as medical emergencies.

Twitter has already blocked Trump’s accounts and removed two tweets due to what they described as “violating Twitter’s rules.”

Zuckerberg said the past 24 hours “clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and legal transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden.”

He added that Trumps’ decision to use his platform to condemn rather than condemn the actions of his supporters in the Capitol building has rightly upset people in the United States and around the world.

“We believe that the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. Therefore, we are extending the lockdown we have placed on their Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is completed, ”Zuckerberg added.

You can read the full statement here.