The Trump campaign is seeking his ‘prompt’ return to Facebook

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A lawyer for Donald Trumps 2024 presidential campaign has formally asked Facebook’s parent company to allow him back on the platform, arguing that a two-year ban after Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol dramatically distorted and inhibited public discourse.

In a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, and other company officials, the lawyer noted that Facebook has instituted a ban on the former president who is scheduled to appear for review after January 7 of this year. The lawyer, Scott Gast, requested a meeting to discuss President Trump’s immediate return to the platform.

Donald Trump is a declared candidate for President of the United States, said the letter, dated Tuesday. He is the leading contender for the Republican nomination in many public opinion polls. We believe that banning President Trumps Facebook account has dramatically distorted and inhibited public discourse. We also believe that a continued ban would generally constitute a deliberate effort by a private company to silence the political voice of Mr. Trump.

Trump accounts on Facebook and Twitter were blocked following the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob that ransacked the building, threatened the lives of Vice President Mike Pence and congressional leaders, and resulted in in five deaths. The House impeached Trump on charges of inciting insurrection; the Republican-led Senate acquitted him after a trial.

Meta suspended Trump indefinitely on Jan. 7, 2021. The company’s Oversight Board, an independent group of human rights experts, academics and lawyers that issues binding rulings on some of Metas’ content moderation decisions, later upheld the suspension but criticized the company for not establishing criteria for suspending a user indefinitely.

The company then shortened the suspension to two years and said that once that period was up, it would review whether the risk to public safety had subsided enough to reinstate his account.

Two years after January 6, Facebook is considering whether Trump is still a threat

Last week, Meta spokesman Andy Stone said in a statement that the company will announce a decision on whether to reinstate Trump in the coming weeks in accordance with the process we have laid out.

Where Meta comes down in that decision could have wide-ranging ramifications, experts say. Although the country is not experiencing the same threat of a violent political insurrection that characterized the weeks before January 6, Trump’s rhetoric about election fraud and the people’s movement inspired by his remarks are continues to spread online. That was enough, some argued, to keep him off the podium.

NBC News first reported Trump’s reinstatement request.

In the letter, Gast argued that Trumps return is consistent with holding a fair election.

At a time when the United States is facing critical issues affecting its citizens and the world, and at a time when the country begins the process of choosing its next president, we believe that Meta should encourage a full and robust dialogue, not silencing the presidential candidates, said Gast.

Naomi Nix contributed to this report.

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