Vox Suspends Deputy Editor for Anti-Trump Tweets: ‘Start a Riot’

“We welcome a variety of viewpoints, but we do not condone writing that could put others in danger,” Vox Editor-in-Chief says following Emmett Rensin’s suspension

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Vox has suspended deputy editor Emmett Rensin for a series of tweets encouraging violence against presidential candidate Donald Trump, the website announced Friday.

Rensin’s tweets — which included one encouraging people to riot against Trump — came in response to violence that had erupted at a Trump rally in San Jose on Thursday.

The deputy editor of Vox’s first person section continued by calling out people who disagreed with civil disobedience, saying that they “delegitimized the fear and rage of those oppressed.”

https://twitter.com/emmettrensin/status/738583628855156742

However, Rensin later tweeted that he does not condone violence against human lives and bodies. “It’s very simple: All violence against human lives and bodies is categorically immoral,” he wrote. “Property destruction is vastly more negotiable.”

https://twitter.com/emmettrensin/status/738733098288832512

Following Rensin’s tweets, Vox Editor-in-Chief Ezra Klein issued a statement on Friday announcing Rensin’s suspension.

“Direct encouragement of riots crosses a line between expressing a contrary opinion and directly encouraging dangerous, illegal activity,” Klein said. “We welcome a variety of viewpoints, but we do not condone writing that could put others in danger.”

Klein’s statement did not specify how long Rensin’s suspension would last.

In addition to Vox, Rensin’s work has been featured in the Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times and Salon. He is also the son of author and journalist, David Rensin.

Read the full statement from Vox below.

On Thursday night, Emmett Rensin, the deputy editor of Vox’s first person section, sent a series of tweets that, among other things, urged people to riot if Donald Trump comes to their town.

We at Vox do not take institutional positions on most questions, and we encourage our writers to debate and disagree. But direct encouragement of riots crosses a line between expressing a contrary opinion and directly encouraging dangerous, illegal activity. We welcome a variety of viewpoints, but we do not condone writing that could put others in danger.

In this case, Emmett’s tweets violated Vox’s standards and Emmett has been suspended as a consequence.

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