Twitter halts fake antifa account run by white nationalists
June 2, 2020
Twitter suspended the account, which was linked to a white nationalist group, for inciting violence. "Tonight's the night, Comrades," one tweet had said, before encouraging users to "take what's ours."
Image: Reuters/L. Jackson
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Twitter has suspended a fake "antifa" profile on its platform, which the tech giant says was linked to the white nationalist group Identity Evropa, for making posts inciting violence during ongoing protests in the United States, according to US reports.
The recently created account, @ANTIFA_US, issued tweets calling for violence and rioting. "Tonight's the night, Comrades," the account tweeted. "Tonight we say ‘F--- The City' and we move into residential areas… the white hoods… and we take what's ours ..."
The post ended with #BlackLivesMatter and #F***America, and the profile's photo included the antifa logo.
A Twitter spokesperson told NBC News that the fake account was suspended because it violated the company's platform manipulation and spam policy. Twitter told CNN that the company removed the account after the account "sent a Tweet inciting violence."
The spokesperson added that Twitter has taken action against fake accounts linked to the Identity Evropa group before.
The antifa movement is an unofficial network of loosely affiliated radical left-wing protest groups who promote direct action and confrontation to fight the far-right and fascism. The group's name refers to a shortened version of "anti-fascist."
Antifa protesters are largely decentralized, and primarily use social media to organize their actions. US President Donald Trump has recently targeted the group, blaming them for the destruction of property, looting and arson taking place at this week's protests, and calling the network a terrorist organization.
"It's ANTIFA and the radical Left, don't lay the blame on others!," he tweeted on Saturday.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups in the US, has designated Identity Evropa a white nationalist group that focuses on "intellectualizing white supremacist ideology."
Twitter says that two hashtags, including #DCBlackout, and hundreds of accounts are responsible for spreading misinformation about a "cover-up" and "blackout" of protests in Washington, DC. The fake accounts had accused internet service providers of censoring news of protests as part of an effort to black out the demonstrators.
"We're taking action proactively on any coordinated attempts to disrupt the public conversation around this issue," the spokesperson told NBC.
In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
US protests against the systemic mistreatment of blacks by police have sparked violent confrontations. President Donald Trump has said the military is "ready, willing and able'' to step in.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Cortez
'I can't breathe'
Tense protests over decades of police brutality against black people have quickly spread from Minneapolis to cities across the US. The protests began in the Midwestern city earlier this week, after a police officer handcuffed and pressed a knee on the neck of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, until he stopped breathing and died.
Image: picture-alliance/newscom/C. Sipkin
A 'gentle giant'
Floyd grew up in Houston, Texas, and moved to Minneapolis in 2014 for work. Before his death, he was looking for work after having been laid off from his job as a security guard at a Latin bistro due to Minnesota's stay-at-home coronavirus restrictions. Standing 6 feet, 6 inches (1.98 meters) tall, his friends described him as a "gentle giant."
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/O. Messinger
From peaceful to violent
Protests were mostly peaceful on Saturday, though some became violent as the night wore on. In Washington, D.C., the National Guard was deployed outside the White House. At least one person died in shootings in downtown Indianapolis; police said no officers were involved. Officers were injured in Philadelphia, while in New York two NYPD vehicles lurched into a crowd, knocking people to the ground.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA/J. Mallin
Shops destroyed, looted
In Los Angeles, protesters faced off with officers with shouts of "Black Lives Matter!" as police confronted crowds with batons and rubber bullets. In some cities including LA, Atlanta, New York, Chicago and Minneapolis, protests have turned into riots, with people looting and destroying local shops and businesses.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/C. Pizello
'When the looting starts…'
President Donald Trump has threatened to send in the military to quell the protests, saying his "administration will stop mob violence and will stop it cold." Trump's response has inflamed tensions across the country. He blamed the rioting on alleged far-left groups, but Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told reporters he had heard multiple unconfirmed reports of white supremacists stoking the violence.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA/K. Birmingham
Media in the crosshairs
Many journalists covering the protests have found themselves targeted by law enforcement. On Friday, CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew were arrested while covering the story in Minneapolis, and several reporters have been hit with projectiles or detained while on air. DW's Stefan Simons was fired at by police twice as he reported on the unrest over the weekend.
Image: Getty Images/S. Olson
Going global
North of the US border, in Canada, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Vancouver and Toronto. In Berlin, American expats and other demonstrators gathered outside the US Embassy. In London, protesters kneeled in Trafalgar Square before marching past the Houses of Parliament and stopping at the British capital's US Embassy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Soeder
At Trump's front door
Protests raged in the US capital, Washington, after the district began its 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on Sunday. More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, with some lighting fires outside the president's residence. <i>The New York Times</i> reported that Secret Service had brought Trump into a bunker as a safety precaution.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
Curfews in major US cities
Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Detroit, Washington D.C. and other US cities extended curfews as protests entered a sixth night on Sunday. The state of Arizona in the west instituted a statewide, weeklong curfew after demonstrators clashed with police. Around 5,000 troops from the National Guard also have been deployed in 15 US states.
Image: Reuters/P.T. Fallon
Trump threatens to bring in US military
In the face of renewed protests on Monday, Trump threatened to deploy the military if states failed to "defend their residents." As he made his remarks, security authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets to force protesters from nearby Lafayette Park. Trump then walked from his residence to a church in the park, where he held a Bible aloft during a photo opportunity.
Image: Reuters/T. Brenner
Peaceful demonstrations
Many protests in the US have remained peaceful, with groups of demonstrators standing together against police brutality. In Manhattan's Times Square on Monday, protesters lay on the ground with their hands behind their back, mimicking the position Floyd was in when he was killed. Though some people have resorted to violence, several US mayors and governors have praised the protests.