University of Tennessee professor and USA Today columnist Glenn Reynolds was suspended from Twitter on Wednesday night after tweeting out a photo of Charlotte protesters blocking drivers on a North Carolina highway with the caption “Run them down.”
Reynolds quickly became the subject of an organized campaign, with journalists and progressive activists petitioning Twitter to suspend his account, which they claimed was “inciting violence,” in violation of Twitter’s terms of service. Twitter took prompt action.
Reynolds, who also runs the blog Instapundit, has a little over 64,000 followers. He immediately got #FreeInstapundit trending on Twitter. On Thursday morning, Reynolds and Twitter reached an agreement: he would delete the Tweet and Twitter would reactivate his account.
He defended his Tweet at Instapundit, however: “Sorry, blocking the interstate is dangerous, and trapping people in their cars is a threat. Driving on is self-preservation, especially when we’ve had mobs destroying property and injuring and killing people. But if Twitter doesn’t like me, I’m happy to stop providing them with free content.”
Indeed, Charlotte motorists have reported a host a terrifying incidents from both Tuesday and Wednesday night. One woman, trapped on the highway during the riots, says she feared for her life as protesters looted her cargo.
Female trucker gets mobbed by Charlotte thugs. Fears for her life. Calls the news and gives horrifying interview. pic.twitter.com/hnDZSBeZv5
— Brett MacDonald (@TweetBrettMac) September 21, 2016
Another family reported that their car was attacked on I-85 by protesters throwing rocks, one of which shattered their windshield.
This family was traveling on I-85 when they say #CLT protesters who were throwing rocks at drivers shattered their windshield. @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/Lz3Z3nU7iC
— Mark Barber (@MBarberWSOC9) September 21, 2016
Reynolds says that while he’s supportive of peaceful protests, blocking a highway is hazardous to both protesters and civilians.
“I’ve always been a supporter of free speech and peaceful protest. I fully support people protesting police actions, and I’ve been writing in support of greater accountability for police for years,” he told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “But riots aren’t peaceful protest. And locking interstates and trapping people in their cars is not peaceful protest.”
He went on to say Twitter is a difficult medium for nuance.
This is not the first time, of course, that Twitter has suspended a prominent conservative commenter for unsavory Tweets and what Twitter considers a “harassing” use of the platform. Conservative columnist Robert Stacy McCain was banned from Twitter in early 2015 after tangling with #GamerGate foe Anita Sarkeesian, and conservative raconteur Milo Yiannopolous was banned after an incident involving SNL‘s Leslie Jones.
Twitter has also faced concerns about the subjective nature of its banning process, with punishments coming at the request of a “Trust & Safety Council” packed with social justice warriors and progressive activists.
