Former US president Donald Trump is urging Facebook to reinstate his account, two years after it was deactivated, his aides said on Wednesday, as he gears up for a third bid for the White House.
The social media giant banned Mr Trump a day after the January 6, 2021 insurrection, when a mob of his supporters tried to halt the certification of his election defeat to Joe Biden by storming the US Capitol in Washington.
The former reality TV star had spent weeks falsely claiming that the presidential election was stolen from him and was subsequently impeached for inciting the riot.
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Donald Trump, the president at the time, speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as president in Washington on January 6, 2021. AP -
A mob loyal to Mr Trump tries to break through a police barrier at the Capitol. AP -
The mob waves pro-Trump flags in front of the Capitol building. AP -
Riot police push back a crowd of rioters at the Capitol building. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol building. AFP -
Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump try to open a door of the US Capitol building as they riot in Washington. AP -
US Capitol Police push back rioters trying to enter the US Capitol. AP -
Police and rioters confront each other in the Rotunda of the Capitol. US Capitol Police via AP -
Smoke fills the hallway outside the Senate chamber of the Capitol. AP -
Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump breach the Capitol in Washington. AP -
Trump supporters, including Doug Jensen, centre, confront US Capitol Police in the hallway outside the Senate chamber at the Capitol. AP -
Newly installed razor wire tops the fence surrounding the US Capitol following the January 6 riot. Reuters -
Security agents and members of Congress barricade the door to the House chamber as the violent mob breaches the Capitol. AP -
Rioter Jacob Chansley holds a sign referencing QAnon as supporters of Mr Trump gather to protest the early results of the 2020 presidential election. Reuters
Mr Trump's lawyer Scott Gast said in a letter to Facebook parent company Meta, obtained by AFP, that the ban had “dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse”.
He asked for a meeting to discuss Mr Trump's “prompt reinstatement to the platform”, where he had 34 million followers, arguing that his status as the leading contender for the Republican nomination in 2024 justified ending the ban.
“We also believe that a continued ban would basically constitute … a deliberate effort by a private company to silence Mr Trump's political voice,” Mr Gast wrote.
A US congressional committee recommended in December that Mr Trump be prosecuted for his role in the Capitol assault.
Mr Trump's Twitter account, which has nearly 88 million followers, was also blocked after the riot, leaving him to communicate through his own platform, Truth Social, where he has fewer than five million followers.
California-based Facebook had said it would review Mr Trump's ban on January 7, after two years had elapsed.
“We will announce a decision in the coming weeks in line with the process we laid out,” the company said.
Mr Trump's shock victory in 2016 was credited in part to his leverage of social media and his enormous digital reach.
New Twitter owner Elon Musk reinstated Mr Trump's account last November, days after he announced his decision to run for another term in the White House. He has yet to post.
