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Was Michael Flynn Kicked Off of Twitter — Again? Claim A second Twitter account belonging to Michael Flynn was suspended from Twitter in June 2021. Rating Unknown Like this fact check? Reporting In May 2021, just after he called for military overthrow of the United States government during a QAnon conference, Twitter halted an alleged attempt by former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to evade being banned by the platform. Flynn had already been kicked off of the platform in January 2021 for violating Twitter’s policies on Coordinated Hateful Activity. But on June 1 2021, a second account, this called @GeneralFlynn13, was suspended shortly after sharp-eyed commenters began calling for its removal. We were unable to verify to our satisfaction whether this was indeed a genuine account belonging to Flynn. We contacted Twitter seeking confirmation, but we have not yet heard back. As mentioned, the former national security adviser (and one-time head of the Defense Intelligence Agency during the Obama administration before being forced into retirement, which Flynn blames on conspiracy theories as well) attracted a new round of criticism following his appearance at a far-right and conspiracist gathering in Dallas two days earlier. As CNN reported : I want to know why what happened in Minamar [sic] can’t happen here? a member of the audience, who identified himself as a Marine, asked Flynn. No reason, I mean, it should happen here. No reason. That’s right, Flynn responded. Footage of the exchange also spread online: Here is the video of former national security advisor Michael Flynn saying that he thinks a coup like the coup in Myanmar should happen in the US. pic.twitter.com/7mGYjfXg18 Florida is where wokes go to die... Please enable JavaScript Florida is where wokes go to die — Mamie (@MC_Hyperbole) May 30, 2021 Flynn later claimed that he did not support the idea of a military occupation similar to the one orchestrated in Myanmar in February 2021, in which the military unilaterally rejected the results of that country’s 2020 presidential election (following years of anti-Muslim weaponized disinformation spread mainly on Facebook, much as the QAnon conspiracy theories have been.) In a post on a separate platform, Telegram, Flynn said: Let me be VERY CLEAR – There is NO reason whatsoever for any coup in America, and I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort. Any reporting of any other belief by me is a boldface fabrication based on twisted reporting at a lively panel at a conference of Patriotic Americans who love this country, just as I do. I am no stranger to media manipulating my words and therefore let me repeat my response to a question asked at the conference: There is no reason it (a coup) should happen here (in America). After his doomed stint leading the DIA, Flynn later served as National Security Adviser for then-United States President Donald Trump from November 2016 to February 2017, after which he once again resigned in disgrace — this time, amid reports that he misled the administration about his dealings with an ambassador from Russia. Flynn also pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about the matter, but he was granted a pardon by Trump in November 2020. Flynn’s suspension in January came after he promoted the conspiracy theory — which cast Trump as single-handedly fighting against a (non-existent) Deep State within the government. We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm, and given the renewed potential for violence surrounding this type of behavior in the coming days, we will permanently suspend accounts that are solely dedicated to sharing QAnon content, a Twitter spokesperson said at the time. The aforementioned conference of patriotic Americans in question was really a gathering of proponents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, who have also latched on to the false idea that the election was stolen by Joe Biden and that as a result, Trump could be reinstated to office. Journalists were ejected from the event, and another guest at the event reportedly called for the hanging of former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Right-wing Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas also spoke at the event: A sitting member of Congress, Louie Gohmert, is currently speaking at a QAnon event in front of the event's logo, which has the QAnon slogan right in it. pic.twitter.com/fcZhA0PsH5 — Alex Kaplan (@AlKapDC) May 29, 2021 CNN reported that support for a coup was already popular among proponents of the conspiracy as well as supporters of Trump: Talk of a Myanmar-style coup in the United States has been popular among some Trump supporters and QAnon believers for months. pic.twitter.com/PVFKQ6LukA — Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) June 1, 2021 As Twitter users celebrated the suspension of the @GeneralFlynn13 account, New York Times reporter Maggie Halbermann said on her own account that Trump has been telling a number of people he’s in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August, information matching weaponized conspiracy theories observed by researchers of the far right: Trump has been telling a number of people he’s in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August (no that isn’t how it works but simply sharing the information). https://t.co/kaXSXKnpF0 — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 1, 2021 And Flynn was not the only person who called for an overthrow. Disgraced Trump lawyer Sidney Powell — the onetime darling of the Stop the Steal set — spent part of that same conference pushing the same discredited messaging. He can simply be reinstated, she said , adding, A new inauguration date is set, and Biden is told to move out of the White House, and President Trump should be moved back in. That this is completely untrue did not deter Powell from following that up with, I’m sure there’s not going to be credit for time lost... but he should definitely get the remainder of his term and make the best of it. On January 6 2023 — two years to the day after the coup attempt against the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters — Flynn was reinstated on Twitter. Flynn thanked Twitter owner Elon Musk, who acquired the platform in late 2022, after returning to the platform. Update January 10 2023, 1:34 p.m. PST: Updated to reflect Flynn’s return to Twitter in January 2023. – ag Posted in Fact Checks , Politics Tagged donald trump , Michael Flynn , qanon , twitter
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