Twitter flags another Trump tweet as ‘abusive’ after president threatens Washington DC protesters

Flagging tweet means users no longer able to like or reply to it

Twitter has flagged another tweet from Donald Trump, as the president doubles down on his “law and order” rhetoric about protests that have erupted across the country regarding police brutality against black Americans.

The social media site claimed the president violated its rules against abusive behaviour when Mr Trump chose to condemn Washington DC protesters.

“This tweet violated the Twitter Rules about abusive behaviour. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible,” said an advisory, that was added to Mr Trump’s tweet.

The tweet that sparked problems between Mr Trump and the social media site involved the president threatening “serious force” against DC protesters if they attempted to bring an “autonomous zone“ to the city – similar to what was seen in Seattle, Washington.

Twitter added its notice about six hours after the tweet was first published on Tuesday morning.

“We’ve placed a public interest notice on this Tweet for violating our policy against abusive behaviour, specifically, the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group,” the platform said in a tweet detailing its decision-making process.

“Per our policies, this tweet will remain on the service given its relevance to ongoing public conversation.”

Users will no longer be able to like or reply to the president’s tweet, but they can retweet it with a comment, according to Twitter.

The president’s tweet came after a tense evening of protests in Washington DC on Monday. Protesters attempted to topple a statue of President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square, which sits just across the White House. The former president is reportedly a favourite for Mr Trump, and his portrait even hangs in the Oval Office.

BHAZ (Black House Autonomous Zone) was also spray painted on the columns in front of St John’s Episcopal Church – the site of Mr Trump’s controversial photo-op.

Besides threatening “serious force” against any protesters, other tweets by the president said legal action could be taken against anyone attempting topple federal statues.

“I have authorised the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the US with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent,” he wrote.

“This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions,” Mr Trump added.

Twitter has labelled the president’s tweets multiple times in recent months. The first example happened when Mr Trump tweeted a claim that mail-in ballots were fraudulent. This tweet was slapped with a fact-check label, sparking outrage from Mr Trump and his supporters.

Despite the outrage, Twitter has not backed down from labelling the president’s tweets if they violate community guidelines.