The popular microblogging and social networking platform Twitter, where President Trump had about 90 million followers, banned his personal account as well as that of his team on Friday.
Twitter shares were down almost 4% in after-hours trading the social media site announced that the personal account of US President Donald Trump as well as his team's personal account would be banned permanently "due to the risk of further incitement of violence" following the violent riot at the US Capitol on Wednesday.
As of 8 pm, shares were being traded at $49.54, which is %3.77 lower than the closing price of $51.48 on Friday afternoon.
Twitter had already put Trump's account on suspension earlier this week, but only for 12 hours. After the page was reactivated, Trump posted again and addressed his supporters saying that they "will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future" and that he will not be attending President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony. Twitter then issued a statement, quoting that it "determined that these Tweets are in violation of the Glorification of Violence Policy and the user @realDonaldTrump should be immediately permanently suspended from the service".
This comes days after hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building, where lawmakers were holding a session to officially count the Electoral College votes and confirm Democrat Joe Biden's presidential win. The riot resulted in the death of five people and left dozens more injured. The pro-Trump supporters participating in the riot also caused damage to parts of the Capitol building and its interior.
Trump had nearly 90 million followers on Twitter and had been using his account actively during his tenure as the president, often igniting public debates over statements he made.
Earlier this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also announced that an indefinite ban will be imposed on Trump's Facebook and Instagram for at least the next two weeks until Biden is inaugurated as the next President of the United States.
