On the same day a Los Angeles congressman introduced a resolution to expel her from Congress, Twitter on Friday briefly suspended the account of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, but later said the move was a mistake.
The Georgia Republican, who has in the past promoted violence against Democrats and conspiracy theories about QAnon and the 9/11 attacks, was unable to post to her account for 12 hours.
San Francisco-based Twitter later said one of the platform’s automated systems suspended Greene by mistake. “This action has been reversed, and access to the account has been reinstated,” the company said in a statement.
The freshman lawmaker then used her account to express her skepticism about Twitter’s explanation to her more than 380,000 followers.
“I was just told @Twitter suspended me for 12 hrs in ‘error,’ on the same day Dems introduced a resolution to expel me from Congress,” she posted. “What a coincidence?”
The expulsion resolution was introduced Friday by Rep. Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles, who — among other things — cited reports of her previous support of social media posts that called for “political violence” against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former President Barack Obama and other members of Congress as a reason she should be removed from Congress, according to a news release from Gomez’s office.
Gomez also noted that Greene had amplified conspiracy theories, including some related to the Sept. 11 terror attacks and the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Doughas High School in Parkland, Florida.
“I believe some of my Republican colleagues – and one in particular – wish harm upon this legislative body,” Gomez said in a speech on the House floor as he introduced the resolution.
“I’m not saying this for shock value. It’s the conclusion I drew after a member of Congress advocated violence against our peers, the Speaker, and our government. It’s what I believed after this chamber was turned into a crime scene just 10 weeks ago,” he continued, referencing the pro-Trump mob that stormed that Capitol on Jan. 6. “I take no joy in introducing this resolution, but any member who incites political violence and threatens our lives must be expelled. And I’ll do everything in my power to protect our democracy and keep all my colleagues safe.”
The resolution had 72 cosponsors, among them Reps. Maxine Waters, Judy Chu, Lou Correa, Tony Cárdena and Grace Napolitano, all of whom represent portions of Southern California.
It is not, however, supported by top House Democratic leaders, The Hill reported.
“Members are very unhappy about what happened here, and they can express themselves the way they do. What Mr. Gomez did is his own view. And that is not [the] leadership position,” Pelosi told reporters, according to The Hill.
The effort comes after the House voted in February to remove Greene from both of her committees, citing her history of incendiary social media posts. Greene has said most of her most controversial posts were written before she was elected, and that she no longer supports QAnon, the baseless belief that former President Donald Trump waged a secret battle against a cabal of satanic child-molesting cannibals.
It’s unlikely the resolution will succeed given a two-thirds supermajority is needed to remove a member of the House. The move to strip Greene of her committee assignments only required a majority.
Calls to Greene’s three official congressional offices went to inactive voice mails on Friday. Messages sent through email and social media were not immediately returned.
