Twitter releases hold on Banks’ official account

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) - Rep. Jim Banks (R-Columbia City) is free to Tweet on his official account once again.

The congressman on Friday shared a video on that page -- the first post there in two weeks.

It follows a suspension for what Twitter deemed “hateful conduct” and a violation of its policies.

During the hiatus, Banks was still able to use a personal account, though it has fewer followers than his official one.

The standoff centered on a refusal by Banks to remove the offending tweet -- which, by Twitter’s own actions, was then hidden from public view.

Banks’ video posted blasted Twitter for “censorship,” accusing the company of attempting to silence conservative views.

“I’m not the first, I won’t be the last conservative that ‘Big Tech’ tries to silence,” he said, pledging to “lead the fight” to hold the industry accountable.

It was not immediately clear if Banks had taken any actions resulting the reinstatement of his account or if Twitter released it without any moves by the congressman.

Fort Wayne’s NBC contacted Banks’ office seeking more information on what led Twitter to lift the suspension and received this statement:

“Twitter was blocking my communications with Hoosiers right before Congress votes on the largest expansion of the federal government since the Great Society. Twitter demanded I delete the tweet if I wanted to participate in a momentous political debate, which is my job, so I did, but I stand by every word in my factual statement.

Twitter provides a crucial platform for elected officials to communicate with voters, which is part of what makes Twitter’s biased and arbitrary censorship so dangerous. Fighting the left’s censorship will remain a priority of mine for as long as I’m in Congress.

I’ll say it again: House Republicans must rein in Big Tech.”

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