Twitter has hidden a Donald Trump tweet for glorifying
violence amid riots in the city of Minneapolis after the police death of George Floyd.
Calling the rioters "thugs", the US president
threatened "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" and offered
to send in armed soldiers.
Met with immediate backlash, Trump's "shooting"
threat was borrowed from a Florida police chief who declared "war"
and pledged a violent reprisal on black people in Miami Beach, Florida, in
1967.
The tweet violated rules against "glorifying
violence" and Twitter hid
the message behind a disclaimer and banned likes based on fears the president's
threat could inspire further acts of violence.
It came as the third night of protests in the US city of
Minneapolis, Minnesota, gave way to arson, gunfire, looting and vandalism, with
a police station and several shops being torched.
It also came amid a row between Trump and Twitter after the
social media platform fact-checked two of his tweets.
Trump responded on Thursday by signing an executive order
giving regulators the power to pursue legal action against sites such as
Twitter and Facebook.
National Guard troops were already on the streets of
Minneapolis in the early hours of Friday morning in a bid to restore order as
many scenes of unrest went unchecked following fresh clashes between protesters
and police.
As shops were ransacked and several buildings burned to the
ground, Trump tweeted: "I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a
great American City, Minneapolis.
"A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak
Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under
control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done
right."
He added: "These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen.