Twitter suspends Rep. Jim Banks for misgendering Dr. Rachel Levine
Levine is the first transgender person to hold a position that required confirmation by the Senate.
Banks responded by tweeting from his personal account, claiming that Twitter was punishing him for saying "a statement about FACT."
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Twitter suspended Rep. Jim Banks account on Saturday after he misgendered Rachel Levine (assistant secretary for health, Department of Health and Human Services).
In March, Levine became the first transgender person to be elected to a Senate-required position. Recently, she was awarded the four-star officer title. This means that she was sworn into office earlier this week as an Admiral. Levine is now the first transgender person to be awarded this title.
Levine stated, "This is an historic occasion. I am honored to accept this role for its impact and the historic nature it represents."
Banks, an Indiana Republican representative, replied to Levine’s four-star officer news via Twitter, saying that the title was held by a "man".
Twitter responded by suspending Banks' access to his account. Twitter claimed that Banks' comments violated its hateful conduct policy, which prohibits any "targeted missgendering or deathnaming of transgender people."
Twitter stated that it would restore his account if he deletes the tweet.
Banks responded to the temporary suspension by claiming that Twitter was retaliating against him because he "post a statement about FACT."
He also retweeted two blog posts from conservative outlets that misgendered Levine throughout Sunday.
