Trump Twitter: Republicans and Democrats split over freedom of speech

Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Donald Trump’s account in the wake of the storming of Capitol Hill on Wednesday continues to stoke fierce debate, supporters and critics split on partisan lines as they contest what the suspension means for a cherished American tradition: freedom of speech.

Related: Insurrection Day: when white supremacist terror came to the US Capitol

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US Capitol attack: Trump at bay as first Republican senator calls for resignation

Donald Trump’s grip on the US presidency appeared increasingly tenuous on Saturday as Democrats advanced plans to impeach him for a second time, political allies continued to abandon him and Twitter banned his account, removing his most powerful way to spread lies and incite violence.

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Trump has lost Twitter, his biggest political megaphone. Now what?

Trump’s banishment is likely to further enrage an already volatile president, but many hailed the move as a long overdue milestone

From his first executive tweet on the morning of inauguration day 2017 to his final tweet on Friday, announcing that he would not attend his successor’s inauguration, Donald Trump’s personal Twitter account has served as the president’s official platform.

For four years, the @realDonaldTrump Twitter feed was both public square and personal dialogue, a place where he made policy announcements and taunted political enemies; threatened military reprisal and boasted about his TV ratings. But it was also, perhaps most dangerously, a place where he sought to bend reality to his will, unleashing a combustible, near-daily stream of misinformation, lies and outrage to his more than 87 million followers.

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Theft of two computers during Capitol attack raises information security concerns

Nancy Pelosi’s office confirms laptop was stolen when Trump supporters, incited by the president, invaded the building

At least two computers were stolen from the Capitol when a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the building on Wednesday – including one from the office of the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi – raising grave information security concerns.

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Pelosi spoke to top military leader to ensure Trump can’t launch nuclear attack

House speaker called Gen Mark Milley, chairman of joint chiefs of staff, ‘to discuss available precautions’

Nancy Pelosi spoke to the head of the US military on Friday, seeking assurance that Donald Trump will not be able to launch a nuclear strike during his last days in office.

Related: Effort to impeach Trump again gathers pace after 'attempted coup' at Capitol

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Twitter permanently suspends Trump’s account, citing risk of ‘further incitement of violence’ – live

McConnell says impeachment action unlikely until after Trump is out of office

Senator Mitch McConnnell said in a memo to fellow Senators on Friday that if impeachment articles against Trump are filed this week, the earliest the Senate will address them would be Jauary 19 - the day before Biden’s inauguration.

Congress members pen inquiry to FBI and DHS over how it handled online warnings of this week’s insurrection

Today 35 Congress members have signed a letter addressed to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security requesting more information on how extremist threats leading up to Wednesday’s riot at the Capitol were handled.

NEW: We are demanding to know whether @FBI and @DHSgov considered online extremist threats credible leading up to this week's insurrection.

Law enforcement was woefully unprepared despite ample posts spread online—it can’t happen again. pic.twitter.com/ZQdcshshZY

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Donald Trump recognises ‘new administration’ after US Capitol riot – video

Donald Trump acknowledges in a video released on Thursday night that a 'new administration' will be inaugurated on 20 January, one day after he repeated baseless claims at a Washington DC rally that the election had been stolen. The rally became a precursor for a violent attack on the US Capitol that appalled the nation. In his video, Trump went on to say the rioters 'do not represent our country' and that those who broke the law would pay.

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Biden condemns ‘domestic terrorists’ at Capitol as Pelosi calls for Trump’s removal from office – live

John Kelly, Donald Trump’s former chief of staff who previously served as the secretary of homeland security, said he would vote to remove the president from office if he were still in the cabinet.

“The cabinet should meet and have a discussion,” Kelly told CNN, “The one thing we have going for us here ... is it’s only 13 more days.”

Q: @jaketapper "If you were in the cabinet right now, would you vote to remove him from office?

A: Former Chief of Staff John Kelly: "I -- yes, I would." pic.twitter.com/GA2Pf23qAV

Michelle Obama has released a statement in response to yesterday’s violence at the Capitol, blaming the events on Donald Trump’s actions since the presidential election.

“The day was the fulfillment of the wishes of an infantile and unpatriotic president who can’t handle the truth of his own failures,” the former first lady said.

Like all of you, I’ve been feeling so many emotions since yesterday. I tried to put my thoughts down here: pic.twitter.com/9xzRvrpk7y

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Iraqi court issues arrest warrant for Trump over killing of paramilitary chief

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis died in drone strike ordered by US president

A Baghdad court has issued a warrant for the arrest of the US president, Donald Trump, as part of its investigation into the killing of a top Iraqi paramilitary commander.

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq’s largely pro-Iran Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary network, died in the same US drone strike that killed the storied Iranian general Qassem Suleimani at Baghdad airport on 3 January last year.

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Pro-Trump mob chases lone Black police officer up stairs in Capitol – video

A journalist captured the moment a lone Black police officer was confronted by pro-Trump supporters who had stormed into the US Capitol in what some lawmakers condemned as an attempted insurrection aimed at overturning the results of the presidential election.

A politics reporter at HuffPost, Igor Bobic, filmed the officer as he was chased up the stairs of the building by Trump loyalists who objected to the certification of Joe Biden as the next president, which was taking place in Congress during a joint session. Four people died during the violent occupation

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Congress certifies Biden and Harris win hours after deadly attack on Capitol – video

With all electoral college votes counted, the US Congress has certified Joe Biden's win in the election. Biden and Kamala Harris will take over as president and vice-president on 20 January. The confirmation of the vote was delayed when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building in the afternoon of 6 January

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Democratic and Republican senators unite to condemn US Capitol violence – video

Senators from both sides of US politics have condemned the violence unleashed on the Capitol building on Wednesday.  The vice-president, Mike Pence, described it as 'a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol'. The Democratic Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, labelled the Trump supporters as 'goons', 'thugs' and 'domestic terrorists', while Republican Mitt Romney labelled the events 'an insurrection, incited by the president of the United States'

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25th amendment: can Trump be removed from office before his term ends?

After a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, there are calls for the president to be relieved of office by impeachment or using the 25th amendment. But how would it work?

The storming of the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump on Wednesday has prompted calls by some lawmakers to remove him from office before Joe Biden is sworn in on 20 January.

The chaotic scenes unfolded after Trump – who has been condemned for inciting violence by spreading falsehoods about the election and refusing to admit defeat – addressed thousands of protesters in Washington, using his speech to repeat lies that the election was stolen from him.

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Pro-Trump rioters storm US Capitol during vote on Biden election victory – video report

Pro-Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building in Washington DC on Wednesday, breaking into the debating chambers and clashing with armed police. Four people died during the unrest, three from medical emergencies and one woman was shot dead in circumstances that are unclear. The siege came on the day the electoral college votes confirming Joe Biden's victory were to be affirmed by members of the House and Senate. The chaos erupted after Trump addressed thousands of protesters near the White House, repeating false claims the election had been stolen.


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Schumer calls pro-Trump mob ‘domestic terrorists’ as Senate resumes election certification – live

While the electoral vote certification continues on the senate floor, there appears to be a number of resignations happening at the White House in the wake of the Capitol riot:

One source also said Chris Liddell, the deputy chief of staff, will resign tomorrow. 2/2

The White House social secretary Rickie Niceta has submitted her resignation tonight in reaction to today's protest, a source with direct knowledge tells @ABC

Per multiple sources familiar, NatSec Adviser @robertcobrien and DepNatSec Adviser Matthew Pottinger are considering resigning after today’s events and Trump’s actions. O’Brien still mulling, Pottinger more sure.

As with all things, it’s possible they stay in the admin. 1/2

.⁦@WhiteHouse⁩ Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews resigns from the Trump Administration in response to today’s events. I have always known her to be a good person who has the best interests of the nation at heart. pic.twitter.com/4ZMfmM2Zl3

Former president Barack Obama has issued a statement on today’s events, calling the storming of the Capitol “a moment of great dishonor and shame for the nation”.

Read his full remarks below:

Here’s my statement on today’s violence at the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/jLCKo2D1Ya

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Biden calls on Trump to ‘demand an end to this siege’ – video

President-elect Joe Biden denounces the violence at the Capitol, after a mob of Trump supporters storm the building. 'This is not dissent, it's disorder, it's chaos, it borders on sedition, and it must end now,' Biden said. He then called on outgoing US president Trump to publicly 'demand an end to this siege'

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‘Stand back and stand by’: how Trumpism led to the Capitol siege

The president spent 2020 enabling and encouraging mass displays of armed protest on the streets of American cities

The storming of the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob on Wednesday was the culmination of a year of white nationalist and anti-democratic violence that steadily intensified and featured the direct incitement of the US president.

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Maga mob’s Capitol invasion makes Trump’s assault on democracy literal

Hundreds of the president’s supporters stormed the Capitol in the most dramatic challenge to US democracy since the civil war

The US Capitol, the seat of American democracy, has been stormed by a pro-Donald Trump mob, egged on by the president in a desperate and violent effort to overturn the results of the election.

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