Twitch disables President Trump’s channel following Capitol attack

Popular livestreaming platform Twitch disabled the account of President Donald Trump on Thursday, the company confirmed in a statement to Polygon.

“In light of yesterday’s shocking attack on the Capitol, we have disabled President Trump’s Twitch channel,” the statement reads. “Given the current extraordinary circumstance and the President’s incendiary rhetoric, we believe this is a necessary step to protect our community and prevent Twitch from being used to incite further violence.”

On Wednesday, a pro-Trump mob attempted an insurrection in Washington, D.C. Thousands stormed the seat of American government and clashed with law enforcement, vandalizing the Capitol building and trashing the offices of legislators, who were forced to shelter in place or evacuate the House and Senate chambers. Members of the mob carried Confederate flags, nooses, and white supremacist iconography.

The business of the day — affirming the free and fair election of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris — was not able to be concluded until the early hours of Thursday morning. Four died in the violence, including one person who was reportedly shot by Capitol Police.

Trump had addressed the same crowd on Wednesday morning, hours before the violence began, urging his supporters to head to the Capitol. Lawmakers in both parties have condemned Trump’s rally as inciting the assault on the Capitol that later unfolded.

This is not the first time that Trump’s platform on Twitch has been suspended. Last June, following the rebroadcast of an inflammatory anti-immigrant speech, the Amazon-owned company made the decision to temporarily ban Trump’s account for “hateful conduct.”

Also on Thursday, Facebook, which has long allowed Trump to use its platform to promote baseless claims of a fraudulent election, banned the president’s accounts “indefinitely,” saying it would block his account from being used at least until after Biden is inaugurated.

“We believe the risks of allowing President Trump to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” wrote Facebook in a news release.

At the time of publication, legislators are proposing both impeachment and the invocation of the 25th Amendment. Both could remove Trump from office before the end of his term on Jan. 20.