Twitter has permanently suspended the account of right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos amid claims he incited his followers to attack actress Leslie Jones with racist and misogynistic tweets.
The controversial Breitbart technology editor had more than 338,000 followers when his account was deleted yesterday.
Yiannopoulos and his supporters were allegedly behind abusive tweets sent to Jones on Monday. The Ghostbusters star eventually deleted her account.
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"I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart," she said. "All this cause I did a movie."
Twitter did not refer directly to Yiannopoulos's ban, but said: "People should be able to express diverse opinions and beliefs on Twitter. But no one deserves to be subjected to targeted abuse online, and our rules prohibit inciting or engaging in the targeted abuse or harassment of others."
Yiannopoulos describes himself as the "most fabulous supervillain on the internet" and has likened rape culture to Harry Potter - calling them both "fantasy" – and described feminism as a "cancer".
"He has made a living as a provocateur, continually inflaming tensions between progressive branches of the internet focused on identity politics and the fervently anti-PC segment that constantly trolls it," says Buzzfeed.
Calling the suspension "cowardly", Yiannopoulos said Twitter had confirmed itself as "no-go zone" for conservatives.
"Like all acts of the totalitarian regressive left, this will blow up in their faces, netting me more adoring fans," he added.
However, many on the site welcomed his expulsion:
