Advertisement

Twitter suspends far-right Britain First leaders retweeted by Donald Trump

Jayda Fransen has had Twitter account suspended, weeks after being retweeted by Donald Trump
Jayda Fransen has had Twitter account suspended, weeks after being retweeted by Donald Trump

Twitter has suspended the deputy leader of a British far-right group who found herself at the centre of a diplomatic row after being retweeted by Donald Trump.

Britain First’s Jayda Fransen, 31, had her account closed by the social media network weeks after the U.S. President shared anti-Muslims videos she posted.

Paul Golding, the leader of the group, has also been suspended as has the Britain First Twitter page.

The suspensions on Monday are some of the most notable as Twitter begins enforcing new rules that will suspend accounts affiliated with hate groups. It has been dubbed the Twitter Purge.

Paul Golding and Fransen
Paul Golding and Fransen

It had been expected that the policy could lead to a crack down on far-right users, including those associated with the alt-right.

In November, Twitter said it will start to suspend accounts that include “hateful imagery and display names” and those who “use [a] username, display name, or profile bio to engage in abusive behaviour.”

In November, Trump retweeted three anti-Muslim videos posted by Fransen.

The White House was forced to defend the posts, as Theresa May said Trump had been “wrong” to share the videos.

Donald Trump’s retweet of Fransen’s posts
Donald Trump’s retweet of Fransen’s posts

Trump then personally attacked the prime minister on Twitter, at first directing his message at the wrong Theresa May.

“Don’t focus on me,” he said. “Focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!”

In November 2016, Fransen was convicted of religiously aggravated harassment after verbally abusing a woman wearing a hijab.

In September this year, she and Golding were both charged with causing religiously aggravated harassment.

Last week, the pair appeared in court in Belfast accused of threatening behaviour after being arrested in August.

In May, the pair were arrested for distributing leaflets in Kent and posting videos online during a trial at Canterbury Crown Court that centred on three Muslim men and a teenager who were eventually convicted of rape and jailed.

The Britain First Facebook page, which has almost 2million likes, is still active.