- The Washington Times - Thursday, May 6, 2021

The communications director for Rep. Elise Stefanik, the New York congresswoman who is challenging Rep. Liz Cheney over her GOP leadership post, had her account briefly suspended by Twitter on Thursday.

“BIG TECH on the MOVE! Twitter just suspended my Communications Director. An unconstitutional overreach SILENCING our voices and freedom of speech. Republicans are united in fighting back against Big Tech’s tyranny. Millions of Americans will not be silenced!” Ms. Stefanik tweeted.

The suspension came as Ms. Stefanik is in a contest against Ms. Cheney for the No. 3 position in the GOP conference, pinning Trump-supporting Republicans against the establishment.

It was not immediately clear why the tech company suspended the account. About an hour after Ms. Stefanik tweeted about the suspension, it reappeared.

“The account was suspended in error. This has been reversed, and the account has been reinstated. The account’s followers will take 24-48 hours to fully restore,” a spokesperson from Twitter told The Washington Times.

Twitter has been under fire from Republicans for banning accounts of conservatives, most notably former President Trump. They claim it’s a concern of freedom of speech, censorship and discrimination against Republicans.


SEE ALSO: Elise Stefanik eager to boot Liz Cheney from leadership post


Some members of Congress have suggested breaking up Big Tech’s monopoly, or stripping the social media companies from liability protections afforded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. 

Karoline Leavitt, Ms. Stefanik’s communications director, confirmed the suspension in a statement to Fox News.

“This is a perfect example of their tyrannical censorship, as they fundamentally believe conservatives do not belong in the public square,” she said. 

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.

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