Twitter account tied to TX congressman suspended after Tweet backing Trump fraud claim
A Twitter account that appears to belong to U.S. Rep. Roger Williams was briefly suspended after the account posted support for President Trump’s allegations of election fraud.
Williams, whose district stretches from Austin to the southern tip of the Fort Worth area, is among a handful of Texas Republicans who have spoken publicly on behalf of President Trump, who is alleging voter fraud without yet presenting evidence.
On Thursday evening, a Twitter account with Williams’ name, likeness and a link to his official campaign website called for the Justice Department to intervene on Trump’s behalf.
“This is the most corrupt election in our lifetime. Where is the DOJ and AG?” a post on the account said.
The comments were posted to an unverified account, @rogerwilliamstx, and not the congressman’s verified account, @RepRWilliams.
The account was suspended briefly on Friday morning for what Twitter described as a rules violation. However, just before noon on Friday the account was back up, with the tweet in question intact.
Officials from Williams’ office didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also backed the president.
“Republican poll watchers were denied meaningful access to the ballot processing and counting process in Philadelphia, posing a direct threat to the integrity of our elections,” Cruz’s staff said in a statement emailed to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “That’s why a Pennsylvania court ordered that observers must be allowed within six feet of all aspects of the ballot counting process. As Sen. Cruz has said, the American people have the right to expect votes will be counted fairly, with transparency, and not in secret.”
But another Texas Congressman, U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, called Trump’s comments Thursday night “dangerous and wrong.”
“A sitting president undermining our political process & questioning the legality of the voices of countless Americans without evidence is not only dangerous & wrong,” Hurd wrote on Twitter, adding that it “undermines the very foundation this nation was built upon. Every American should have his or her vote counted.”
Elsewhere in the United States, other Republicans issued measured statements about the president’s conduct.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter:
“Here’s how this must work in our great country: Every legal vote should be counted. Any illegally-submitted ballots must not. All sides must get to observe the process. And the courts are here to apply the laws & resolve disputes. That’s how Americans’ votes decide the result.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 12:46 PM.
