Democrats demand social media CEOs answer for post-Trump raid threats

Democratic lawmakers want the heads of eight social media companies to answer questions about online threats to law enforcement in the wake of the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid earlier this month. 

The heads of Meta, Twitter, TikTok, Truth Social, Rumble, Gettr, Telegram, and Gab received letters from the House Oversight Committee Friday asking them if they’ve seen an uptick in threats against law enforcement on their platforms and what they’re doing to stop it. 

“We are concerned that reckless statements by the former President and Republican Members of Congress have unleashed a flood of violent threats on social media that have already led to at least one death and pose a danger to law enforcement officers across the United States,” Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), the head of the homeland security subcommittee, said in their letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

“We urge you to take immediate action to address any threats of violence against law enforcement that appear on your company’s platforms,” the letter continues. 

The lawmakers cited a deadly Aug. 11 standoff in Ohio after a man wielding an AR-15 and a nail gun tried to break into the FBI’s Cincinnati field office, as well as the arrest of a Pennsylvania man earlier this week who posted, “If You Work For The FBI Then You Deserve To Die” on Gab.