Iraq War vet who called out social media censorship booted from Twitter
Iraq War veteran and former Republican congressional candidate Jesse Kelly has been banned from Twitter for unclear reasons, becoming yet another conservative personality to be kicked from the platform.
Kelly's account on Twitter was disabled on Sunday, drawing anger from many conservative commentators, as the ban was apparently affected with no prior notice.
A guessing game started about what might have prompted Kelly's suspension, while liberal Twitter welcomed the move, accusing the Marine Corps vet of stoking violence.
Kelly was deployed to Iraq before retiring from the Marine Corps in 2004. In 2010, he ran as a Republican for the US House of Representatives seat in Arizona, losing to Democrat and gun control advocate Gabrielle Giffords by a single point.
In 2012, he attempted to secure the same seat in the Arizona special election, also without success.
Kelly is the host of "The Jesse Kelly Show" on a talk radio station in Houston.
The former Marine has been a frequent guest on Fox News, ironically predicting his Twitter ban in his latest appearance on Fox's 'Tucker Carlson Tonight,' while talking about the suspension of right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from Twitter and Facebook in August.
"That's the point, Tucker. And they are coming for you and me next," Kelly told Carlson. While disagreeing with Jones and calling him a "nutjob," Kelly firmly believes free speech rules should apply to everyone.
In a column which Kelly wrote about the same time, he chastised moderate conservatives who were reluctant to decry Jones' ban or even praised the move, warning that it is a slippery slope towards banning all opinions that stray from the mainstream.
Conservative Twitter has been incensed regarding the removal of Kelly's profile page, with some denouncing the platform for stooping to a "new low" in suppressing right-wing opinions.
Jesse Kelly is a funny guy and a combat vet Marine, a man very dedicated to his country, his family, and his bit. What Twitter has done marks a new low for the platform.
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) November 26, 2018
"How can we discuss opinions and have discourse if they just ban ANYONE who is on the Right?" one user inquired.
Laura Loomer and Jesse Kelly banned in one weekend on Twitter. How can we discuss opinions and have discourse if they just ban ANYONE who is on the Right?
— Giuseppe Montemiletto (@jmontemiletto) November 26, 2018
Another pointed out that accounts that appear to glamorize pedophilia are still running
This weekend Twitter banned Laura Loomer, Jesse Kelly & Liz Crokin Twitter allows many pedophile accounts with LGBTQP, LGBTQ+, and MAP (Minor Attracted Persons) in their profile Examples: @LLgbtqp@MacPhisto1996@JMaltiere@ShiotaTheMap Pls list others in comments & report!
— An Open Secret (@AnOpenSecret) November 26, 2018
Oh for God’s sake. I’m as liberal as they come. Jesse is a harmless guy who happens to be funny as hell, not to mention my friend. He did everything with a wink on here. If Twitter really banned him, that’s just stupid.
— andy lassner (@andylassner) November 26, 2018
Now banned on Twitter: a woman is a biological woman.Not banned on Twitter: the Jews are termites.@jack, you’re destroying your company.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 25, 2018
However, there have also been many who cheered at the news.
First they came for Alex Jones, and that made me really happy.Then they came for Laura Looner, and that also made me really happy.Then they came for Jesse Kelly, and I think you get the point.
— Tom V (@tavrunner) November 25, 2018
It has been only a few days since Laura Loomer, another prominent conservative firebrand and conspiracy theorist, was pulled off Twitter after going on a rant over Democratic House Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar.
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