Twitter blocks Trump, threatens permanent ban over inciting violence

Twitter on Wednesday threatened to permanently ban US President Donald Trump from the platform for flouting its civic integrity rules, ordering him to remove three rule-breaking tweets.

The messaging platform locked Trump for 12 hours and said his account will remain locked if the offending messages are not taken down, according to the Twitter safety team.

"As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, DC, we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy," Twitter said in a post.

"If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked."