Donald Trump reacts to 2-yr Facebook ban: 'No dinner with Mark Zuckerberg at White House'

Fuming on his 2-year ban from Facebook, former US President Donald Trump on Friday, issued a statement that he would not 'host Mark Zuckerberg and his wife at the White house' the next time he is in it, hinting at a successful Presidential bid in 2024. Trump further claimed that Facebook's decision was an 'insult to 75 million people who voted for him' in the 2020 election. He vowed that they (Facebook) will not be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing.

Donald Trump: 'Won't invite Zuckerberg to White House'

 Facebook bans Trump for 2 years

On Friday, Facebook announced that the account of former US President Donald Trump will remain suspended for two years, and post that period it will re-assess the ban. The ban comes a month after the Oversight Board -- a quasi-judicial body upheld the Silicon Valley-based company's suspension of Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts, following his praise for the people engaged in the violence at the Capitol. Most social media platforms - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube had suspended Trump's accounts after the Capitol Hill riots, alleging he had instigated the attack.

"Given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr Trump's suspension, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols. We are suspending his accounts for two years, effective from the date of the initial suspension on January 7 this year,” Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs, Facebook said in a blog post on Friday. At the end of this two-year period, Facebook said it will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded.

"If we determine that there is still a serious risk to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a set period of time and continue to re-evaluate until that risk has receded. When the suspension is eventually lifted, there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered if Mr Trump commits further violations in future, up to and including permanent removal of his pages and accounts," Clegg wrote. While the Oversight Board said it is reviewing Facebook's response, the White House has backed Facebook's decision.

US Capitol siege by Pro-Trump supporters

On January 6,  thousands of Trump supporters broke barricades outside the Capitol, and marched into the building, scaling walls using scaffolding and breaking windows to enter the building. Inside the building, rioters banged on doors, trying to push through doors and fought with police. As per reports, by 2 PM, Capitol Police ordered all staff, reporters and nearby senators into the Senate chamber, which was sealed off and put on lockdown. Visuals from inside the Capitol show the rioters inside US Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, inside the Congress and Senate Hall as police officers deployed tear gas inside the building.  After the building was secured, police stated that five people died including a police officer. Trump, who had egged on supporters to march on the Capitol after making false claims of electoral fraud, was later impeached by the US Congress, but acquitted by the Senate.