Twitter Suspends Bothell Man Seen At Racist Virginia Rally

BOTHELL, WA - Twitter has suspended the account of former Washington State University College Republicans president and Bothell High School graduate James Allsup. Twitter did not address why Allsup was suspended, but the move comes after Twitter suspended other racially inflammatory accounts in late December.

Allsup was seen participating in the "Unite the Right" white nationalist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va., in August. A video of Allsup in Charlottesville shows him praising the Confederate flag - "it's a symbol of heritage" - and fawning over white nationalist leader Richard Spencer. At one point, Allsup sprints down a street to direct traffic so Spencer's vehicle entourage can pass. Along the way, Allsup marches with people tossing out racial epithets and excitedly talking about seeing racists like David Duke.

Allsup resigned as WSU College Republicans president in August shortly after his appearance at the rallies. He was reelected to that position in early December, but the election was invalidated a few days later.

Twitter said in November it would begin suspending accounts that use hateful images and symbols. In mid-December, Twitter banned the accounts of the leaders of Britain First, an anti-Muslim group. Other suspended accounts include the "race realism" magazine American Renaissance, and the white nationalist Traditionalist Worker Party.

Here's how Twitter describes its approach to suspensions:

Abusive Tweets or behavior: We may suspend an account if it has been reported to us as violating our Rules surrounding abuse. When an account engages in abusive behavior, like sending threats to others or impersonating other accounts, we may suspend it temporarily or, in some cases, permanently.

Allsup hosts a weekly podcast called the "Nationalist Review" about "American nationalism, traditionalism, and alternative right-wing politics" available on the website Spreaker. He also produces YouTube videos and has close to 200,000 followers on that site.

Responding to his Christmas-Day Twitter suspension on Facebook, Allsup wrote, "Merry Christmas."

Image via YouTube