Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign was locked out of its Twitter account Wednesday. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images technology Twitter locks McConnell campaign account over video of protesters hurling threats

Twitter locked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s campaign account Wednesday for posting a profanity-laced video of protesters hurling threats toward the GOP lawmaker’s Kentucky home.

A Twitter spokesperson said the @Team_Mitch account was “temporarily locked out of their account for a Tweet that violated our violent threats policy, specifically threats involving physical safety.”


McConnell’s campaign manager, Kevin Golden, confirmed the account was locked this morning “for posting the video of real-world, violent threats made against Mitch McConnell.” The video featured a clip from a recent protest outside McConnell’s home in Louisville, where participants reportedly donned clothing and held signs that read “Massacre Mitch.”

That moniker is a reference to McConnell's opposition to gun control legislation in the wake of recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

Golden slammed Twitter over its decision, which he said the campaign unsuccessfully appealed. He said the company informed the campaign the account will remain locked until the video is deleted.

“This is a problem with the speech police in America today,” Golden said. “Twitter will allow the words ‘Massacre Mitch’ to trend nationally on their platform. But locks our account for posting actual threats against us.”

The statement echoes longtime complaints from Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who accuse Twitter, along with Facebook and Google, of being biased against conservatives, a charge the companies deny.

POLITICO reported Wednesday that the White House is circulating drafts of a proposed executive order that would address allegations of anti-conservative bias by social media companies.



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