Republican candidate who was suspended from Twitter almost immediately reinstated after Elon Musk gets word

AP Photo/Matt York, File

Twitter briefly suspended Rep. Mark Finchem, a GOP candidate running for secretary of state in Arizona. His suspension was lifted less than an hour after users informed Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk of Finchem’s ban.

On Monday, Finchem posted a screenshot on Trump’s social media platform Truth Social showing that his account was locked and placed in “read-only” mode for violating Twitter’s terms of service. A second post from Finchem showed that he had 11 hours for his account to be fully functional again. 

“Twitter has blocked my account from speaking truth with one week left until the election. They are trying to put their thumb on the scales of this election. Tag Elon Musk and tell him to unban me right now. I am the Secretary of State nominee in a swing state running against the criminal Soros-funded candidate,” Finchem wrote.

Following his suspension, Trump's lawyer, Jenna Ellis tweeted about the ordeal and asked Elon Musk to step in, writing “@elonmusk this shouldn't happen a week before the election!”

“Looking into it,” wrote Elon in response.

Looking into it

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2022

Less than an hour after Ellis’ notice, Finchem was back on the platform. 

“We are back! Thank you @elonmusk for stopping the commie who suspended me from Twitter a week before the election. Twitter is much better with you at the helm,” Finchem tweeted.

We are back! Thank you @elonmusk for stopping the commie who suspended me from Twitter a week before the election. Twitter is much better with you at the helm. Thank you @MediaRightNews1 @JennaEllisEsq @KariLake @Brick_Suit & others for spreading the word! #AZSOS https://t.co/TfdJNnnuIm

— Mark Finchem #JustFollowTheLaw VoteFinchem.com (@RealMarkFinchem) October 31, 2022

Following his acquisition of Twitter, Musk has stated that he intends for the social media platform to allow freedom of speech, but with the caveat that it would not become a “free-for-all hellscape.” 

Musk intends to remove permanent bans from the platform after he assembles a panel of people with diverse political viewpoints to rework the site’s content policies.