YouTube reinstates Trump’s account after suspension over US Capitol attack

YouTube said on Friday it was lifting restrictions on Donald Trump’s official account which were imposed after the violent January 6 attack on Congress.

Leslie Miller, vice-president of public policy, told Axios Trump’s “ability to upload new content is restored”.

Miller said YouTube had “carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, balancing that with the importance of preserving the opportunity for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election.

“This channel will continue to be subject to our policies, just like any other channel on YouTube.”

Trump videos YouTube deemed to incite violence would not be reinstated, Axios reported.

Twitter and Facebook have already lifted bans imposed in the aftermath of the Capitol riot. Trump has not returned to either, preferring his own platform, Truth Social.

Trump will now be able to buy campaign ads on YouTube.

The insurrection Trump incited on 6 January 2021, in an attempt to overturn his election defeat by Joe Biden, is now linked to nine deaths.

More than a thousand arrests have been made and hundreds of convictions secured. Authorities have reportedly indicated more arrests to come.

Trump was impeached but acquitted in his Senate trial when enough Republicans stayed loyal.

Running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, he enjoys clear leads in polling.

He also faces civil and criminal legal jeopardy over the Capitol attack, other election subversion efforts, his retention of classified material, a hush money payment to a porn star, his financial affairs and a defamation trial arising from an allegation of rape.

Trump denies all wrongdoing.

He has also recorded a charity single in aid of imprisoned January 6 rioters.

Twitter and Facebook have already lifted bans imposed in the aftermath of the Capitol riot. Trump returned to Facebook on Friday afternoon with a brief video clip for his 2024 presidential run with “I’M BACK” as the caption. He has not returned to Twitter, preferring his own platform, Truth Social.

Jenna Ellis, a lawyer who worked on Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, referred to the new owner of Twitter, who lifted that platform’s Trump ban in November, when she said of Trump’s YouTube return: “You have to wonder whether this would have ever happened without Elon Musk.”