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.
Laura Loomer has handcuffed herself to the door of Twitter's office to protest being banned from the site. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/VzOfmsYcKt
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 29, 2018
She brought along blown up versions of the tweet that got her suspended next to Louis Farrakhan’s comment comparing Jews to termites.
Yes, Laura Loomer is wearing a yellow Jewish star to protest being banned from Twitter. pic.twitter.com/S4NUz662z2
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 29, 2018
The police were called:
The police have arrived at Laura Loomer's Twitter protest, and they are not happy! They tell her to move and take the handcuffs off or get arrested — one cop says, "You know, Twitter isn't the only thing for media." pic.twitter.com/RTS0NsgQxr
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 29, 2018
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:
NYPD: Do you want to be removed from the door
Laura Loomer: I want my twitter pic.twitter.com/DqlbtFhtox
— Brett "Unions 2021" Banditelli (@banditelli) November 29, 2018
Twitter has decided not to engage:
Police say Twitter isn't pressing charges against Laura Loomer, so she can stay as long as she wants. The protest continues! If Laura wants to leave, the police say they'll cut the handcuff whenever she wants. pic.twitter.com/k7h269J08g
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 29, 2018
I think we all know where this is going:
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:
Ratio me all you want, but Laura Loomer acting like an idiot and handcuffing herself to @Twitter is crazy enough, forget about wearing a star that my grandparents who got burned alive were.
Comparing being kicked off a private company’s platform to millions dying is despicable. pic.twitter.com/uCjPVH8v3G
— Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) November 29, 2018
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.
Update: Looks like Loomer has been cut free of the door:
Laura Loomer ended her Twitter protest, got cut out of the handcuffs. But she did not get her Twitter account back. pic.twitter.com/VNKO1uIxJK
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 29, 2018
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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