Trump campaign press secretary temporarily suspended on Twitter over mail-in voting tweet

close

Video

Trump 2020 spokesman Gidley on Trump campaign reportedly dwarfed by Biden's in fundraising

'No one really likes Joe Biden,' including the media, who 'just hate Donald Trump,' Trump 2020 Campaign National Press Secretary Hogan Gidley tells 'America's Newsroom.'

EXCLUSIVE: The Trump campaign’s national press secretary had his Twitter account suspended Thursday, just hours before the presidential debate, after he tweeted about his experience of being sent absentee ballot materials intended for someone else.

National press secretary Hogan Gidley tweeted about receiving an envelope in the mail that was addressed to someone else, by the name of “Daniel.”

"Got ‘my’...uh wait...no…”Daniel’s” ballot in the mail?!? Who is that? Apparently it’s a former tenant who hasn’t lived in the unit for 8 YEARS!!! But yeah, sure...the mainstream media is correct...unsolicited vote-by-mail is ‘totally safe.'”

TWITTER, FACEBOOK HAVE CENSORED TRUMP 65 TIMES COMPARED TO ZERO FOR BIDEN, STUDY SAYS 

He attached a screenshot of an envelope postmarked from the D.C. Board of Elections and marked “Your Official Ballot.” Separately it was marked “Official absentee balloting material -- first-class mail.”

A picture of the mailing Gidley uploaded.

Gidley was temporarily suspended by Twitter for violating the social media platform’s rules -- specifically those about “violating our rules against posting misleading information about voting.”

“You may not post content providing false information about voting or registering to vote,” it said.

“I, like many other Americans, received a ballot in the mail that was not meant for me, and that proves what the president has been saying is one hundred percent correct -- that there are serious issues with the Democrats’ plan for universal, unsolicited mail in voting,” Gidley told Fox News. 

“Irrationally, inexplicably suspending my Twitter account simply for tweeting about the incorrect ballot is completely insane, and it won’t cover up the fact that Democrats changing the way we vote just weeks before an election is dangerous and fraught with the potential for massive fraud,” he said.

Video

“This is just another attempt by Twitter to silence the Trump campaign, hours before the final presidential debate no less,” Andrew Clark, the Trump campaign’s Rapid Response Director, said.

SEN WICKER REQUESTS FACEBOOK, TWITTER DISCLOSE POLITICAL INTERACTIONS BEFORE BIG TECH HEARING 

The Trump campaign told Fox that Gidley appealed the decision, but that appeal was rejected. Gidley then deleted the tweet in question, and has since had his access restored.

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed to Fox News that the account was temporarily locked for violating its policies on election misinformation -- specifically its policy on "civic integrity."

That policy says users "may not use Twitter’s services for the purpose of manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes."

"This includes posting or sharing content that may suppress participation or mislead people about when, where, or how to participate in a civic process," it says.

Twitter has been cracking down on what it describes as false information about the alleged risks of mail-in voting. President Trump and his campaign have repeatedly flagged instances of alleged fraud, and Trump himself has tangled with the social media platform on the issue.

Democrats and other figures in the tech world have countered that instances of mail-in voter fraud are rare, and that the practice is secure.

Twitter has slapped warning labels on a number of Trump tweets, including in August when he tweeted that mail drop boxes were a “voter security disaster.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

That tweet was judged to be against Twitter’s rules on “civic and election integrity."

Last week, Twitter suspended the official account of the Trump campaign, saying Team Trump’s tweet calling Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden a “liar” and posting a video about Hunter Biden’s business dealings is a violation of its policies against sharing hacked materials.

Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.