Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for 'glorifying violence' by suggesting that Minneapolis protesters could be shot

Warning on ‘when looting starts, shooting starts’ post risks further escalation of row between firm and president

Twitter has hidden one of Donald Trump’s tweets behind a warning that it “glorifies violence”, further escalating the social media company’s row with the US president.

The US president’s tweet, posted on Thursday night Washington time, warned people in Minneapolis protesting against the killing of a black man, George Floyd, by a white police officer that he would send the military to intervene if there was “any difficulty”.

“When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Trump wrote, apparently quoting former the former Miami police chief Walter Headley, who in December 1967 promised violent reprisals to protests over stop-and-frisk tactics.

Two hours later, Twitter added a notice to the tweet: “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.”

The warning was accompanied by a link to its policies about public interest exceptions.

For people visiting Trump’s Twitter timeline, or seeing the tweet retweeted on their feed, the warning obscures the content until the user taps to view it.

Users who try to reply to the tweet are instead presented with a second notice that reads: “We try to prevent a tweet like this that otherwise breaks the Twitter rules from reaching more people, so we have disabled most of the ways to engage with it.” Existing replies no longer appear below it.

The tweet’s spread will also be limited by Twitter’s algorithms, according to the company’s policy documents. 

The warning suggests Twitter has no intention of backing down in its dispute with Trump, which erupted on Wednesday when the company applied a fact-checking label to the president’s tweets for the first time.

He had tweeted an accusation that California was using mail-in ballots to ensure a “rigged election” to which Twitter added a label reading: “get the facts about mail-in ballots”, which had a link to a “Twitter-curated” set of fact checks.

In response, the president signed an executive order that aims to remove Twitter’s protections against civil claims in cases where it acts as an “editor” rather than a publisher. 

In a Twitter thread, the company explained its latest decision: “This tweet violates our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today.

“We’ve taken action in the interest of preventing others from being inspired to commit violent acts, but have kept the tweet on Twitter because it is important that the public still be able to see the tweet given its relevance to ongoing matters of public importance.”

Twitter introduced its public interest exception in June 2019, after years of criticism for failing to consistently apply its rules to prominent public figures, particularly the president.

“There are certain cases where it may be in the public’s interest to have access to certain tweets,” the company said, “even if they would otherwise be in violation of our rules.” 

Twitter said at the time it believed the response – hiding the tweet behind a warning and reducing its algorithmic distribution – struck “the right balance between enabling free expression, fostering accountability, and reducing the potential harm caused by these tweets”.

The company has taken action against Trump’s tweets before, for copyright infringement. Twice the president used unlicensed music in campaign videos – in an advert featuring the theme to the film Dark Knight Rises, and in a meme video set to Nickelback’s song Photograph. In both cases, the posts were removed without complaint from the president.

Source: The Guardian, Alex Hern, May 29, 2020

The Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck had 18 previous complaints against him, police department says

(CNN) -- The former Minneapolis police officer seen in a video with his knee on George Floyd's neck had 18 prior complaints filed against him with the Minneapolis Police Department's Internal Affairs, according to the police department.

It's unclear what the internal affairs complaints against the officer, Derek Chauvin, were for. MPD did not provide additional details.

Chauvin was fired this week, along with three other MPD officers who were present when Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck. Police have said they were responding to an alleged forgery at a corner store.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was unarmed and handcuffed, pleaded that he could not breathe. He was soon after declared dead at a nearby hospital, according to authorities.

Floyd's death and video of the incident have sparked widespread anger, destructive protests and calls for the officers involved to face criminal charges.

Only two of the 18 complaints against Chauvin were "closed with discipline," according to a MPD internal affairs public summary. In both cases, the "discipline issued" column indicated that a letter of reprimand had been issued in response.

Chauvin was not the only officer on the scene that day with a history of complaints against him.

Former officer Tou Thao had six complaints filed with internal affairs, one of which was still open, according to the public summary released Thursday. The other five complaints had been closed without discipline.

The two other officers involved had no complaints filed against them, per MPD internal affairs.

CNN has reached out to attorneys representing the officers for comment.

One officer was the subject of a lawsuit

Thao was also part of a 2017 excessive force lawsuit that was settled by the city of Minneapolis, according to a settlement obtained by CNN and an attorney for the plaintiff in the case.

The lawsuit was brought by Lamar Ferguson, who claimed in the suit that Thao and another officer subjected him to "cruel and unusual" punishment when they arrested him in October 2014.

According to the lawsuit, the officers used "unreasonable force," including "punches, kicks and knees to the face and body while Ferguson was defenseless and handcuffed." As a result, Ferguson suffered broken teeth, bruising and trauma, the lawsuit says.

The city would go on to pay Ferguson and his attorney $25,000 to settle the lawsuit on December 11, 2017.

Both the city and the officers denied liability in the settlement, according to a 2017 statement from the city of Minneapolis.

According to the lawsuit, Ferguson was walking home from his grandmother's house with his pregnant girlfriend on October 7, 2014, when they were approached by a Minneapolis police car with Thao and another office inside.

The lawsuit claims the officers handcuffed Ferguson despite having no probable cause to believe he had committed a crime.

The officers took Ferguson's wallet and ID and the second officer ran the ID through the National Crime Information Center, a federal database, but no warrant showed up in the system, the lawsuit said.

Despite this, the second officer "falsely stated that there was a warrant out for Plaintiff's arrest," the lawsuit states. The officer questioned Ferguson about a previous incident involving people who the officer believed were Ferguson's family members, but Ferguson "said he had no information to tell the officers."

A physical altercation broke out, according to the lawsuit, then Thao threw Ferguson to the ground and began hitting him. Thao allegedly lifted Ferguson's head up by grabbing the back of Ferguson's hoodie as the other officer allegedly kicked him in the mouth.

Ferguson was taken to a hospital, but allegedly the officers "expressed impatience with medical staff caring" for Ferguson. When he was discharged, the officers allegedly threw his discharge papers -- including prescription painkillers -- in the garbage as they left the hospital, the lawsuit states.

Source: CNN, Chuck Johnston and Brad Parks, May 29, 2020

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