Donald Trump banned from Twitter permanently
It follows violent protests at the US Capitol last week in opposition to the confirmation of Joe Biden’s election win by Congress. The unrest led to a charge on the Capitol Building and left five people dead, according to US reports.
Now, Jacob N. Shapiro, a politics professor at Princeton University in the US, has warned the risk of further attacks is “significant” in the run-up to Mr Biden’s inauguration.
He told Express.co.uk: “We should be quite concerned about isolated acts of violence.
“I do not anticipate wide-spread civil unrest, but I think the risk of a few protests leading to attacks on Government offices is significant.”
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Indeed, Twitter has warned plans for “armed protests” were already being made on its platform just days after last Wednesday’s events.
It said the plans included “a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021”.
Professor Shapiro also cast a critical eye over how incoming president Joe Biden can solve the huge problem he faces in uniting US citizens across its vast political gulf.
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Mr Biden has made unity one of his key commitments following his election win in November.
In a victory speech shortly after US media reported his win over sitting president Donald Trump, Mr Biden said: “I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but to unify. Who doesn’t see Red and Blue states, but a United States.”
He added he would “work with all my heart to win the confidence of the whole people”.
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He also reached out to supporters of Mr Trump, urging both sides to “put away the harsh rhetoric” and “lower the temperature”.
Since then, the US political divide has remained, culminating in last week’s violence and the threat of further unrest.
Professor Shapiro said Mr Biden must now seek to address “the deeper” issues driving the divisions, citing the media as one of them.
He told Express.co.uk: “There are deep systemic issues leading to last week’s events.
“The question the Biden administration should be asking is not how the President-elect can use his bully pulpit to unite a divided America, it is what should be done to address the deeper systemic issues driving the conflict, including the emergence of news bubbles and erosion of local media.”
Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony is due to take place on January 20.
Mr Trump has said he will not be attending, in a move that will see him join just a handful of other US presidents to be absent at the handover of presidential powers.
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