Trump ally Roger Stone's Twitter account is suspended after attacks on journalists

Mr Stone is planning to sue the social media giant

Roger Stone, a Republican strategist and ally of US President Donald Trump, has had his Twitter account suspended. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Longtime friend and political confidante of President Donald Trump, Roger Stone, has had his Twitter account suspended due to attacks on journalists.

The Republican strategist went on an expletive-laden tirade against CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Don Lemon as well as Republican commentator on the network Ana Navarro on 27 October.

His account was suspended the next day and according to him, the site told him it was a permanent suspension.

Ms Navarro has been known for opposing Mr Trump vehemently in the past despite her party affiliation.

Mr Stone was commenting on the merger between telecommunications company AT&T and CNN's parent company Time Warner when he posted: “When AT&T aquires [sic] Time Warner the house cleaning at CNN of human excrement like @donlemon @jaketapper & dumbf*** @ananavarro will be swift”.

He also called Mr Lemon an “ignorant lying c***sucker” and a “dumb piece of s***” for reporting on a story about the uranium deal with a Russian company that was brokered during the Obama administration while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State.

Twitter does not comment on individual accounts but the policy Mr Stone supposedly violated includes this language: "behaviour that crosses the line into abuse, including behaviour that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another user’s voice."

The tweets appear to have been posted after the news network reported that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller would be announcing the first charges as a result of his investigation into whether Trump campaign team members colluded with Russian officials during the 2016 US election.

Mr Stone has had his Twitter account suspended before, most recently in April 2017 for posting threatening tweets aimed at Laua Keiter, the communications director for progressive watchdog group Media Matters.

Mr Stone told the website TheWrap that he has "retained one of the best telecommunications lawyers in the country and will be bringing a legal action against Twitter over the suspension of my account."

“The battle for free speech has just begun," he said, adding that Twitter's move appeared to be an attempt to "silence conservative voices."

Calling the social media giant part of the "tech left," Mr Stone said he and his family have been "inundated on Twitter with bloggers threatening to kill" them.

"Yet Twitter seems unconcerned about that,” he commented.

Mr Stone has yet to name his attorney.