Rep. Jim Banks Blasts Twitter for Censoring His Official Account
Rep.
Jim Banks (R-IN) slammed far-left Silicon Valley tech giant Twitter today for censoring his official account, which was locked after he referred to Rachel Levine, the transgender assistant secretary of health at the Department of Health and Human Services, as a man. Rep. Banks is a leader in the congressional Republican party. He is chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), a group of conservative GOP lawmakers. 158 of the 211 Republican members of congress are part of the RSC, making it the largest ideological caucus in the House. Tweeting from his personal account, Rep. Banks slammed Twitter for hindering his ability to reach his constituents. Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 21: Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) speaks to the media with members of the Republican Study Committee about Iran on April 21, 2021 in Washington, DC.
The group has proposed legislation that would expand sanctions on Iran and aim to prevent the U.S. reentering the Iran deal. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images) “By suspending my @RepJimBanks account, Twitter is not only infringing on my First Amendment rights but also my ability to reach my constituents,” said the Indiana congressman. Rep. Banks’ official account was locked last week after he referred to progressive hero and Biden administration member Rachel Levine by his biological gender. According to a Twitter spokesman, the account was locked for violating the platform’s “Hateful Conduct” policy, and will only be reinstated if Rep. Banks deletes the offending tweet. In other words, Rep. Banks must submit to what he — and many Americans — believes to be a willfully false, anti-science view of biological gender in order to access his official account. In a statement he released at the time, Rep. Banks warned that Big Tech would be held accountable when Republicans regain control of the House: My tweet was a statement of fact. Big Tech doesn’t have to agree with me, but they shouldn’t be able to cancel me. If they silence me, they will silence you. We can’t allow Big Tech to prevent us from telling the truth. When Republicans take back the House next year, we must restore honesty to our public forums and hold Big Tech accountable. Twitter is cracking down on the so-called “misgendering” of Levine. It recently censored PJ Media, a conservative news and commentary site. Like Banks, PJ Media referred to Levine according to his biological gender. Breitbart News has reached out to Twitter for comment. Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.
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