Twitter says lock on GOP congresswoman’s account was result of ‘incorrect enforcement action’

Twitter on Wednesday said that the brief locking of a GOP congresswoman’s account was the result of “incorrect enforcement action.” 

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a freshman member of Congress who recently said she wanted to carry her Glock pistol in the Capitol, reported Wednesday on Instagram that she received a weeklong ban from posting from her account. 

A spokesperson for Twitter confirmed to The Hill Wednesday afternoon that the site’s content moderation team “took the incorrect enforcement action” in response to one of the congresswoman’s tweets, and had rectified the decision by unfreezing Boebert’s account and placing a warning on the tweet in question.

“The Tweet in question is now labeled in accordance with our Civic Integrity Policy. The Tweet will not be required to be removed and the account will not be temporarily locked,” said the Twitter spokesperson.

The incident appeared to center around a Jan. 9 tweet in which Boebert falsely accused the Democratic National Committee (DNC) of rigging the 2020 election. The tweet is now labeled with a content warning from Twitter which restricts users from replying to or otherwise interacting with the post.

Hillary must be pissed it took the DNC until 2020 to successfully rig an election.

— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) January 9, 2021

The mix up with Twitter comes about a week after President Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter after the platform determined that his future posts would incite violence. Other mainstream social media platforms such as Facebook have also taken restrictive measures against Trump in his final days of his presidency after he encouraged a group of his supporters last week to gather at the Capitol while Congress certified the 2020 election results.

Following his remarks, a mob of rioters attacked the Capitol building breaking windows, vandalizing lawmakers’ offices and forcing staff, media and members to evacuate both chambers of Congress to undisclosed locations. 

Boebert was recently involved in tensions that flared between Capitol Police and some Republican lawmakers who argued over the use of metal detectors outside the House chamber following the violent insurrection. Boebert was seen by a reporter setting off the metal detector and refusing to turn her bag over for inspection. 

Later Boebert tweeted: “I am legally permitted to carry my firearm in Washington, D.C. and within the Capitol complex.” She added that the detectors are “just another political stunt by Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi” that wouldn’t have prevented last week’s riots.