Twitter suspends account of white nationalist group posing as antifa

A Twitter account posing as an antifa group and pushing violence at protests across the US was linked to white nationalist group Identity Evropa, as previously reported by NBC. The account was suspended after sending a tweet inciting violence, the microblogging site confirmed to CNET.

“This account violated our platform manipulation and spam policy, specifically the creation of fake accounts,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Antifa, which is short for anti-fascists, is a general description of far-left groups that confront white supremacists and neo-Nazis at rallies and other events. President Donald Trump made reference to the group when criticizing protest violence on Monday, and on Sunday tweeted that the US will designate it as a terrorist organization, despite its lack of a unifying body. However, legal experts have pointed out that antifa isn’t an actual organization. 

Nationwide protests followed George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25. According to a video posted to Facebook, other footage and prosecutors, a police officer presses his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd, who is handcuffed and on the ground, says repeatedly “I can’t breathe.”

Floyd, who was 46, was taken away in an ambulance and later pronounced dead. Authorities on Friday charged the now-fired officer, Derek Chauvin, with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.  The three other officers involved were fired and are under investigation.