Fox and Friends journalist Pete Hegseth claims Twitter banned him after he shared anti-US manifesto of Pensacola shooter
Fox and Friends host Pete Hegseth claimed Twitter banned him on Saturday, December 7, after he shared an anti-American manifesto which was said to have been written by Mohammed Alshamrani, a 21-year-old second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force and a student naval officer who opened fire at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, on Friday, December 6. Four persons, including Alshamrani, were killed in the incident and the FBI presumed it to be an act of terror.
Hegseth, 39, posted on Sunday, December 8, screenshots that showed his tweet, calling Alshamrani’s acts as “Islamist terror”, was no longer available. He also said Saudi Arabia should be held accountable for the killings. Twelve people were also injured in the firing. The TV journalist also shared a capture from the deceased shooter’s Twitter account on Saturday, saying: “Here's the (now blocked) tweet from Saudi Islamist Mohammed Alshamrani, who murder 3 brave Americans in Florida.”
“The coward posted it just hours before his terrorist attack. This is Islamist terror. No reason to ever mince words. Saudi Arabia must be held to account.”
Alshamrani’s social account was also taken down following the attack and it appeared to feature various postings directed against Israel and a quote from Osama bin Laden, the slain Al Qaeda leader.
The account was also said to include a lengthy manifesto posted early on Friday, less than two hours before the shooting took place. It read in part: ‘I'm against evil, and America as a whole has turned into a nation of evil.”
“I'm not against you for just being American, I don't hate you because [of] your freedoms, I hate you because every day you [are] supporting, funding and committing crimes not only against Muslims, but also humanity.”
Hegseth expresses disappointment over Twitter's action
It was Hegseth sharing a screengrab of this post that, according to him, saw his Twitter account getting banned. He expressed disappointment saying if they could ban him, they could do it with anyone and stressed on the need to “fight back”. Hegseth also feared that Instagram could also ban him and accused the technological giants of backing the Left.
He hoped Twitter will consider his appeal but the social media platform didn’t comment when approached, Daily Mail reported. In May this year, Twitter said that it would be “addressing the abuse of tech to spread terrorist and extremist content”.