Laura Loomer protests Twitter by handcuffing herself to their front door (Update: Loomer ends protest)

Well, this is weird. Laura Loomer was suspended from Twitter just over a week ago for “hateful conduct.” Specifically, she described newly elected Rep. Ilhan Omar as pro-Sharia law and pro-FGM (female genital mutilation). Today, Loomer decided to protest Twitter’s decision by handcuffing herself to the front door of their New York headquarters.

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She brought along blown up versions of the tweet that got her suspended next to Louis Farrakhan’s comment comparing Jews to termites.

The police were called:

Loomer claims she doesn’t have the handcuff keys. Police offered to clip the chain to free her from the door but she replied that she wants her Twitter account back:

Twitter has decided not to engage:

I think we all know where this is going:

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https://twitter.com/Timcast/status/1068273361330020352

I’m not a fan of Loomer. She’s one of the people who interrupted the performance of a Shakespeare play last Summer. That struck me as something straight out of the far-left’s playbook, i.e. an attempt to shout down opponents rather than letting them have their say (even if you think what they’re saying is awful).

But while I don’t care for Loomer’s brand of political stunts, she does have a point here. Why in the hell is Louis Farrakhan still welcome on Twitter?! Why does he get a pass while people like Loomer and Jesse Kelly get kicked off the site at the least provocation? There really is an absurd double-standard operating here and it seems to be growing more obvious by the week. Loomer doesn’t make as compelling a spokesperson for that point as Kelly did, but she’s not wrong.

That said, the stunt itself is a bit silly in its self-importance. Loomer is Jewish, but I’m sympathetic to Kyle Kashuv’s take on her decision to wear a Jewish star, thereby implicitly suggesting she’s facing treatment comparable to what Jews experienced under Nazi Germany:

Twitter seems to be transforming itself into a publishing platform for left-wing activists. Given Jack Dorsey’s desire to have the company become a digital town square for everyone, the leftward slide may make Twitter a bunch of hypocrites, but it doesn’t make them Hitler.

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Update: Looks like Loomer has been cut free of the door:

Loomer apparently went voluntarily to a police station after her protest but she wasn’t arrested and Twitter isn’t pressing charges. Meanwhile, it appears another right-wing personality was suspended today. Big League Politics says CJ Pearson was suspended in the midst of defending Loomer:

“What happened today with Twitter is more of the same – an overt and intentional attempt at censorship to silence a voice they cannot control,” Pearson told Big League Politics. “The left will not silence me…

He was defending Loomer’s protest Thursday afternoon when his account was taken offline.

 

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Ed Morrissey 12:00 PM | October 05, 2024
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