A controversial San Francisco progressive lawmaker has quit X, claiming he no longer feels safe after Elon Musk targeted him – but locals claim he’s really left over outrage about his stance on the Israel massacre.  

Dean Preston announced his plans to quit the social media site formerly known as Twitter earlier this week – and blamed a personal attack by its billionaire owner for driving him off.

Musk and other San Franciscans say Preston’s progressive policies have contributed to the ruination of the city, now a byword for open drug-taking, ram-raids and violent crime. 

But many critics believe Preston is using the Musk excuse to deflect outrage over his Democrat Socialists of America party’s outrageous stance on the Israel massacre by Hamas. That saw the DSA effectively-blame the Jewish state for the bloodbath that killed more than 1,000.

The most outrageous part of their screed said: ‘Violent oppression inevitably produces resistance. Socialists support the Palestine people’s, and all people’s right to resist and fight for their own liberation. This weekend’s events are no different. Decolonization is the only path towards peace.’

There is no suggestion Preston himself was behind the tweets, although he is the best-known figurehead for the DSA in San Francisco.  

Dean Preston on Friday announced he was quitting X, after Elon Musk called for him to face prison over his policies on San Francisco. Preston, a member of the DSA, has also been criticized this week for failing in his initial remarks to condemn Hamas

The DSA, whose members advocate for progressive policies and community-led policing, has also backed pro-Palestine marches in the United States this week, most notably in New York City.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, prominent DSA members of Congress, disavowed the DSA’s stance on the Hamas attack, condemning their rhetoric about ‘occupation and apartheid’ and their calls for a ‘ceasefire’ with the terrorists.

In Michigan, Rep. Shri Thanedar officially renounced his DSA membership, saying in a statement on Wednesday that he won’t ‘associate with an organization unwilling to call out terrorism in all its forms.’

Preston, unlike Ocasio-Cortez, Bowman and Thanedar, has not addressed the DSA’s stance, to the anger of some.

Noa Argamani was kidnapped by Hamas fighters on Saturday after being manhandled on a motorbike and driven across the desert

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He initially this week made a public statement condemning attacks on civilians – but did not explicitly speak out against the attacks by Hamas. He later in the week did condemn Hamas.

On Friday, he told The San Francisco Chronicle that he was deleting his account on X.

Musk on September 22 declared: ‘Dean Preston needs to be fired. He is arguably the person most responsible for the destruction of San Francisco.’

Musk on September 29 tweeted, in response to Preston’s plan to bar armed security guards from unholstering their weapons to protect property: ‘Dean Preston should go to prison.’

And on October 3, Musk added: ‘Dean Preston should be in prison for what he’s done to San Francisco.’

Preston on Friday said he had had enough.

‘It’s a reality check that it’s not a safe or productive place to share my thoughts,’ Preston said.

‘Twitter has been overwhelmed by trolls and disinformation since Musk took over. With the owner of the site calling for me to be jailed, it became clearer it was time to move to a new platform.’

Preston has previously hit back at Musk’s criticism.

In a statement on his website last month, Preston called Musk a ‘billionaire fascist.’

Preston is not the only San Francisco supervisor to leave X.

Supervisor Shamann Walton said last year that he would leave the platform when Musk took over, and three other supervisors – Myrna Melgar, Hillary Ronen and Connie Chan – either deleted their accounts or stopped using them.