Rochelle Ritchie blames Trump for Cesar Sayoc threats, Twitter for not taking them down
Rochelle Ritchie blames Trump for Cesar Sayoc threats, Twitter for not taking them down
SAN FRANCISCO Two weeks before Cesar Sayoc allegedly mailed pipe bombs to political figures across the country, political commentator Rochelle Ritchie says she complained to Twitter about threats he made against her, including menacing messages and disturbing images such as alligators and human body parts, following one of her appearances on Fox News.
One of the tweets from Sayoc's account read: "We will see you 4 sure. Hug your loved ones real close every time you leave you home." Ritchie says Twitter informed her that Sayoc's tweets did not violate the company's rules.
So Ritchie, 36, a former press secretary for House Democrats, says she was stunned Friday when she learned that the man she reported for threatening her was suspected of mailing pipe bombs to at least a dozen Democrats and other critics of President Trump. And then, she said, she got "really, really mad."
"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?"
Source: USA Today