Sen. Steve Daines suspended from Twitter because hunting picture in profile

Republican Senator Steve Daines’ office says he has been suspended from Twitter over a profile photo of him posing with a freshly killed antelope on a hunting trip with his wife. 

Daines’ account is ‘temporarily unavailable because it violates the Twitter Media Policy,’ according to a disclaimer on his page.

It claims the Montana lawmaker violated the ‘sensitive media policy’ because it contained ‘graphic or adult content.’

‘You may not include graphic violence or adult content in your profile photo or profile header image,’ Twitter said. ‘We consider graphic violence to be any form of gory media related to death, serious injury, violence, or surgical procedures.’ 

The dead animal is slightly bloodied in the photo. 

His GOP colleagues called for Twitter to immediately reverse the decision Tuesday morning.

Republican Sen. Steve Daines’ office claims he has been suspended from Twitter over a profile photo of him hunting with his wife. His GOP colleagues shared the photo and called for the social media company to reverse the move 

On Tuesday, the profile picture and cover photo on Sen. Steve Daines’ Twitter account were gone, as well as his tweets, saying the ‘account is temporarily unavailable because it violates the Twitter Media Policy’ 

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said: ‘If you don’t like hunting, fine, don’t go. But don’t censor others who disagree.’ 

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‘And I’m pretty sure this is a formal job responsibility for a senator from Montana!’ Cruz added.

Fellow Montana lawmaker, Rep. Ryan Zinke added: ‘This is the family photo that got Steve Daines put in twitter jail. Stop censoring our Montana way of life! Great shot, Cindy!’ 

Donald Trump Jr., an avid hunter himself, tweeted: ‘Twitter has ridiculously suspended Sen. Daines because his profile picture is of him and his wife hunting…What a disgrace!’ 

A spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee told CNN: ‘This is insane. Twitter should immediately reverse this suspension.’

Daines is the chairman of the NRSC. 

Daines’ account was briefly unsuspended Tuesday morning, only to be locked down again moments later. 

Conservatives cheered billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter because they believed that the social media site would be less prone to punish users. 

Republicans have long feared they were being ‘shadow banned’ by Twitter and a number of right-wing figures have had their accounts suspended over the years. 

Former President Donald Trump lost access to his Twitter account following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building. 

Under Musk, Twitter reinstated a number of accounts from prominent right-wing figures, but some individuals have already gotten themselves banished from the social network again.