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Rochelle Ritchie Was Threatened Online By Cesar Sayoc. Twitter Did Nothing. Now It’s Sorry

Rochelle Ritchie Was Threatened Online By Cesar Sayoc. Twitter Did Nothing. Now It’s Sorry

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Cesar Sayoc had a history of posting dangerous and racist posts on social media and ultimately acting out his rants by mailing pipe bombs to political figures across the country.

Political commentator Rochelle Ritchie says this all may have been prevented if Twitter had taken her complaints about Sayoc seriously.

Ritchie is also pointing the finger at President Donald Trump. Two weeks before Sayoc allegedly mailed 14 pipe bombs to Barack Obama, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, other Democrats, Trump critics and CNN, Richie complained to Twitter.

Ritchie also received threats from Sayoc, including “menacing messages and disturbing images such as alligators and human body parts after one of her appearances on Fox News,” USA TODAY reported.

Twitter
File- In this Aug. 30, 2015, file photo released by the Broward County Sheriff’s office, Cesar Sayoc is seen in a booking photo, in Miami. Sayoc will not seek immediate release on bail and agreed Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, to be transferred from Miami to New York to face charges of sending explosive devices to prominent Democrats, critics of President Donald Trump and media outlets. (Broward County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)

 

Ritchie, 36, a former press secretary for House Democrats, received a tweet from Sayoc that read: “We will see you 4 sure. Hug your loved ones real close every time you leave you home.”

When she complained to Twitter, the company told her that Sayoc’s tweets did not violate the company’s rules.

“I had reported this to Twitter and they did absolutely nothing about it,” she told USA TODAY. “What’s abusive behavior? Do I have to be found floating in the Everglades in order for this to be taken seriously? Does a bomb have to go off in order for this to be taken seriously?”

After Sayoc was arrested on the pipe bomb charges, Twitter finally took down his Twitter account. At first, the social media company declined to comment on Ritchie’s complaint except for an emailed statement: “This is an ongoing law enforcement investigation. We do not have a comment.”

Twitter later acknowledged in a tweet it had made a mistake by not acting on Ritchie’s complaints and promised to investigate: “The tweet clearly violated our rules and should have been removed. We are deeply sorry for the error.”

Ritchie, who regularly appears on cable TV news shows, says she is disappointed in the delayed response from Twitter. At first, she ignored Sayoc’s tweets. “I let those roll off my back. But this one was a little different,” she said. “So I did reply to him and said: ‘Threatening my life is a bad idea.'”

“Ritchie reported Sayoc’s threats to Twitter, expecting that his account under the username @hardrock2016 would be closed or at least suspended. That same day, Twitter rebuffed her,” USA TODAY reported.

Richie took action on her own and blocked Sayoc’s account but when Savoc Ritchie said she noticed her Twitter “blowing up” while she was at work.

“Some of the people who follow me were like: ‘Wow, Rochelle, you need to report this. This was the guy who was arrested by the FBI for sending all those pipe bombs,'” said Ritchie, who then unblocked Sayoc’s account to confirm that it was the same person.

Twitter
In this courtroom sketch, Cesar Sayoc, left, appears in federal court, Monday, Oct. 29, 2018, in Miami. Sayoc is accused of sending pipe bombs to prominent Democrats around the country. A judge will hold a hearing Friday on whether Sayoc can be released on bail. (Daniel Pontet via AP)

Twitter has been under scrutiny before because of its lack of response to dangerous and offensive users. “Out of all social media services, Twitter is the absolute worst when it comes to political divisiveness,” said Ritchie.

According to Twitter’s terms of service, “specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people” are not permitted. But “vague threats” or “wishing or hoping that someone experiences serious physical harm” does not violate the company’s rules.

Ritchie also points the finger at Trump, whom she says has created a tense political climate in which his supporters feel emboldened.

“If I, as a former press secretary for Congress, can try to have some sort of responsible rhetoric when I go on conservative television or left-leaning networks, if I can frame my comments so that it does not create a hostile or volatile situation, then the president should be able to do the same,” Ritchie told USA TODAY. “Unfortunately, he does not have that same skill set, and this is where we are now, where these people think that this is OK, and it’s absolutely not OK.”

Twitter
This Nov. 1, 2017, photo shows a van with windows covered with an assortment of stickers in Florida. Federal authorities took Cesar Sayoc into custody on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, and confiscated his van, which appears to be the same one, at an auto parts store in Plantation, Fla., in connection with the mail-bomb scare that has targeted prominent Democrats from coast to coast. (Courtesy of Lesley Abravanel via AP)

 

Ritchie wasn’t the only target on Twitter for Sayoc. “The Cesar Altieri Twitter account posted numerous threatening tweets directed at U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California), the intended target for two of the mail bombs. Those tweets included screengrabs of news stories about bodies being found in the Everglades, reports of missing people, and illustrations themed around death. In one tweet, Sayoc wrote ‘@RepMaxineWaters So you like to make threats.We want to invite you down on our land for an airboat ride here Unconquered Seminole Tribe Swamp Everglades.No@loud talk silence see you soon,’” Wired reported.