Twitter forces Ann Coulter to delete tweet fêting alleged Kenosha shooter as ideal president

https://news.yahoo.com/twitter-forces-ann-coulter-delete-022824759.html

Roger Sollenberger
,Salon•August 27, 2020

Ann Coulter was at the front of the pack of right-wing provocateurs who fêted a 17-year-old arrested Wednesday on first-degree murder charges for fatally shooting protesters in Kenosha, Wis., tweeting she wanted the teen "as my president."

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed to Salon that the platform forced Coulter to delete her tweet for violating its rules about glorifying violence.

"The tweet glorified violence, specifically condoning an act of violence that may be replicable by a civilian," the spokesperson said in an email.

Former San Francisco Giants player Aubrey Huff also lauded the alleged suspect, and Fox News host Tucker Carlson took to his defense in a fiercely criticized segment on his show Wednesday.

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times Magazine reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones tweeted that Carlson had "justified murder" as calls for the network to fire him accelerated.

Multiple Fox News stars later echoed Carlson's line of argument, however, including commentator Katie Pavlich.

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Defenders extended to Congress with Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., calling the shootings "100% justified self defense" on Twitter.

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Donald Trump Jr. also swung to Carlson's defense, claiming that his words had been "willfully twisted" while misquoting those words. (Carlson said "authorities"; he did not say "leaders.")

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