Howie Hawkins, a candidate seeking the Green Party’s nomination to run against President Trump, accused Twitter of censorship on Friday after suspending his campaign’s account.
Twitter said in an email shared by the Hawkins campaign that the account, @howiehawkins20, had violated the platform’s impersonation policy and will not be restored.
“Impersonation is pretending to be another entity in order to deceive, and is strictly prohibited,” Twitter explained in the email.
The Hawkins campaign said in a statement afterward that Twitter provided no information about how the decision was reached.
“How do I impersonate myself? Twitter’s explanation for its censorship makes no sense,” said Mr. Hawkins.
“We have enough problems with trolls and fake news without the corporate owners of social media trying to silence us,” he said in a statement Friday.
Twitter offered no immediate comment on the account’s suspension when contacted by The Washington Times.
Mr. Hawkins, a 67-year-old trade unionist and activist, co-founded the left-leaning Green Party in 1991. A verified Twitter account in his name, @HowieHawkins, remains operational.
More than 20 presidential hopefuls are currently vying for the Green Party’s nomination to run for the White House this November, according to the nonpartisan Ballotpedia website.
Jill Stein, the Green Party’s nominee during the 2016 race won by Mr. Trump, received around 1.4 million votes that election, or 1.1% of total ballots cast.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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