NRA spokesman Dana Loesch’s husband reported a tweet by a man saying their children needed to be murdered, assuming the site would enforce its rules against such threats.
He was wrong. After Twitter user Milan Legius criticized Loesch on Sunday for her pro-Second Amendment views and said the murder of her children "needs to happen," Twitter responded to her husband’s report by absolving Legius of wrongdoing.
"We have reviewed your report carefully and found that there was no violation of the Twitter Rules against abusive behavior," Twitter wrote in an email to Chris Loesch.
Legius’ now-deleted tweet reads in full: "The only way these people learn is if it affects them directly. So if Dana Loesch has to have her children murdered before she’ll understand, I guess that’s what needs to happen."
Twitter’s rules state: "You may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people."
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said earlier this month that the platform was planning to crack down on "hate speech" due to employees’ disappointment over the decision not to ban right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. In another statement, Dorsey admitted the company has a leftward bias it seeks to correct.
Dana Loesch said about the reported threat, "I know several conservatives who have been suspended for far less."
Apparently this doesn’t violate @TwitterSupport TOS. I know several conservatives who have been suspended for far less. cc @jack pic.twitter.com/xwKVFxtx8x
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 27, 2018
Chris Loesch called Twitter’s decision "disgusting."
Apparently wishing the murder of a conservative woman’s children doesn’t violate @Jack @twitter @TwitterSupport terms of service. DISGUSTING! https://t.co/wMhunla7vA pic.twitter.com/wetynURQmk
— Chris Loesch Beep, Bop, Boop (@ChrisLoesch) August 27, 2018
Anti-NRA activists have employed a plethora of tactics to hit back at the organization and its defense of gun rights, including attempts to get the NRA kicked off online platforms and pressuring financial organizations to restrict its business.