Virginia Politics

Facebook suspends account of Virginia state Sen. Amanda Chase

By Laura Vozzella
Jan. 8, 2021 at 6:41 p.m. EST

Facebook suspended the official account of a Virginia state senator and gubernatorial candidate Friday, days after the self-described “Trump in heels” praised rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol as “patriots” while also suggesting that left-wing “antifa or BLM agents of destruction” were really to blame.

Sen. Amanda F. Chase (R-Chesterfield), who spoke to the crowd of President Trump’s supporters in Washington on Wednesday but left before they crashed through Capitol security, cannot post or comment for seven days, or post live video for 60 days on her official Senate page, according to a written notice she shared with The Washington Post. She announced Facebook’s actions on her personal Facebook page, which was not affected.

“Make no mistake, the liberal left who controls social media is systematically targeting vocal supporters of President Trump in an all-out, collaborative effort to silence our voices,” she said in an interview. “Facebook has weaponized its community standards.”

A spokesman for Facebook did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

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Laura Vozzella
Laura Vozzella covers Virginia politics for The Washington Post. Before joining The Post, she was a political columnist and food writer at the Baltimore Sun, and she has also worked for the Associated Press, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Hartford Courant. Follow https://twitter.com/LVozzella