Facebook and Twitter have suspended accounts tied to Cesar Sayoc Jr., after he was arrested and charged by federal officials on Friday for mailing explosive devices to several prominent liberals, including Barack Obama and the Clintons.
Sayoc’s Facebook account was taken down shortly after he was identified. He routinely shared conspiracy theories on his profile, including one that claimed Clinton covertly sold weapons to ISIS, according to Yahoo News.
“There is absolutely no place on our platforms for people who attempt such horrendous acts,” a Facebook spokesperson told TheWrap. “We have found and immediately removed the suspect’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram. We will also continue to remove content that praises or supports the bombing attempt or the suspect as soon as we’re aware.”
Twitter also told TheWrap it had suspended an account linked to Sayoc on Friday afternoon. The account, under the @hardrock2016 handle, tweeted praise of President Trump and often shared memes of many far-right targets, like billionaire investor George Soros, according to The Daily Beast. Soros, a prominent supporter of left-leaning groups and policies, was the first person to receive a suspicious package earlier this week.
Democratic strategist Rochelle Ritchie called out Twitter earlier on Friday, saying that the company declined to act against Sayoc’s account after he’d sent her threatening tweets.
“Hug your loved ones real close every time you leave your home,” he tweeted at her earlier this month, according to screenshot she shared. Twitter told Ritchie that Sayoc’s tweets didn’t violate Twitter’s rules — which says users “may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people.” Twitter declined to comment to TheWrap on Ritchie’s tweet.
https://twitter.com/RochelleRitchie/status/1055867631461416962
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in a Friday afternoon press conference, said that Sayoc faces up to 58 years in prison.