Pa. senator accuses Twitter of censorship; Trump defends him

A Pennsylvania senator cried foul on Friday saying that his personal Twitter account was censored, while the social media platform claimed it was an error.

President Donald J. Trump was quick to back state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, who Trump said has done “a great job of leading a hearing on the 2020 Election Fraud.” Mastriano tweeted an image of his suspended account notification, which stirred a reaction from the president.

“Wow!” Trump tweeted. “Twitter bans highly respected Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano after he did a great job of leading a hearing on the 2020 Election Fraud. They and the Fake News, working together, want to SILENCE THE TRUTH. Can’t let that happen. This is what Communist countries do!”

Wow! Twitter bans highly respected Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano after he did a great job of leading a hearing on the 2020 Election fraud. They and the Fake News, working together, want to SILENCE THE TRUTH. Can’t let that happen. This is what Communist countries do!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2020

Mastriano, a retired U.S. Army Colonel, said his account suspension is “unacceptable in America.”

“The point of Twitter suspending this personal account is to prevent me from posting to my Senate account — to silence our voice,” Mastriano wrote.

A Twitter spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement: “This account was mistakenly suspended for perceived violations of our impersonation policy. This was an error. We have immediately reversed the decision and the account has been reinstated.”

On the same day that Mastriano and Trump pushed back against Twitter, a federal appeals court panel announced it refused to block certification of Pennsylvania’s vote after finding there is no proof that the 2020 presidential election was unfair.

“Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so,” Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote in the opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. “Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.”