MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was blocked from Twitter on Sunday, hours after returning to the platform. Lindell, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, was banned from Twitter in January 2021 for spreading misinformation about the 2020 election. On Sunday afternoon, he published in a new account announcing his return. “Hello everyone, I’RE BACK TO TWITTER. My only account is @MikeJLindell! Please RT and FOLLOW to SPREAD THE WORD,” Lindell tweeted, Insider’s Bethany Biron said. The tweet also contained a video of Lindell confirming that the account was in fact his own. “All these others are fake accounts and they use my name out there, so we started this account,” he said. “Please share with everyone you know, let everyone you know know so we can share the message on Twitter in case they remove it. Thanks a lot for the help.” About three and a half hours later, the account was suspended. A Twitter spokesman told Insider that the account had been permanently suspended for violating the platform’s anti-tax evasion rules. Twitter’s prohibition policy prohibits anyone from attempting to circumvent an earlier prohibition, including creating a new account. Lindell was initially barred from Twitter for violating the platform’s rules on misinformation and citizen integrity policy, which prohibits the disclosure of false or misleading information about voting or election results. Lindell told Insider that Twitter did not mention the latest ban, but called it a “shame.” “We need to melt the voting machines and turn them into prison railings,” Lindell said, referring to his own efforts to prevent the use of ballot machines in US elections. “Jack Dorsey should be first in line for prison!” Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey resigned as CEO in November. Dorsey is still on Twitter’s board, but has said he plans to step down when his term ends in late May. Lindell also said he decided to return to Twitter because others were creating fake accounts pretending to be him. “I created my Twitter account today to let the public know that none of Mike Lindell’s fake Twitter accounts are mine,” Lindell said, adding that he is still on Frank’s own social networking platform. His bid to rejoin the platform came after Twitter announced Monday that Elon Musk had bought the platform in a $ 44 billion deal. The Tesla and SpaceX billionaire said he was interested in promoting “freedom of speech” on the platform, sparking speculation about possible changes to Twitter’s content control policies and previous bans. Sources recently told the Wall Street Journal that Musk is disappointed that Trump is still banned from Twitter, but the former president had previously stated that he did not intend to return to the platform even if Musk took over. “I hope Elon buys Twitter because he will improve it and he is a good person, but I will stay on TRUTH,” Trump told Fox News, referring to his own social networking platform Truth Social.
