A U.S. House Representative says he “won’t back down” after Twitter suspended his official account for describing a transgender woman in the Biden administration as a “man.”
The official account of U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) was suspended shortly after he made a comment about Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health within the Department of Health and Human Services. Levine was born male but identifies as female.
Banks linked to a story about Levine being sworn in as an admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
“The title of first four-star female officer gets taken by a man,” Banks wrote in a tweet that Twitter deleted.
Banks allegedly violated a policy that prohibits harassment of individuals on the basis of gender identity.
Twitter suspended Banks’ official account but left untouched his personal account, where on Saturday, he posted a statement saying he was “censored for tweeting a basic truth.”
“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,” Banks wrote in the statement. “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.”
My statement on being censored for tweeting a basic truth and banned from using my official account at @RepJimBanks👇 https://t.co/N5MBvJKz6g pic.twitter.com/bwQxhRAUOO
— Jim Banks (@Jim_Banks) October 23, 2021
He added in a separate message, “I won’t back down. I’ll be posting on my personal account for the time being.”
Twitter has suspended my official account for posting a statement of FACT.
I won’t back down.
I’ll be posting on my personal account for the time being.
Please Retweet this message and follow me -> @Jim_Banks.
Big Tech must be held accountable!
— Jim Banks (@Jim_Banks) October 23, 2021
Banks’ GOP colleagues supported him.
“BigTech censorship & suppression of free speech is out of control,” tweeted Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.). “… Judiciary Comm must pass legislation to protect the rights of American people & reform BigTech unlimited immunity.”
BigTech censorship & suppression of free speech is out of control. @RepJimBanks is accountable to his voters only. Judiciary Comm must pass legislation to protect the rights of American people & reform BigTech unlimited immunity @RepJerryNadler @Jim_Jordan https://t.co/6G3cl9VIny
— Rep. Victoria Spartz (@RepSpartz) October 24, 2021
Meanwhile, Twitter didn’t delete a Banks tweet that argued: “Calling someone that was born and lived as a man for 54 years the first ‘female’ four-star officer is an insult to every little girl who dreams of breaking glass ceilings one day.” That tweet received more than 800 re-tweets.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Kevin Dietsch/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
