National Parks Service

The official National Parks Service (NPS) Twitter account retweeted two posts critical of President Trump during his inauguration yesterday, one unfavorably comparing the crowd size at Trump's event to President Obama's 2009 inauguration and one noting changes to the White House website's issue pages.

The Trump team seems to have noticed, and, in an email obtained by Gizmodo, grounded the Parks Service from Twitter "until further notice." Parks that use Twitter for emergency announcements were ordered to "alter their contingency plans to accommodate this requirement" because the "expectation is that there will be absolutely no posts to Twitter."

The "Twitter stand down means we will cease use of Twitter immediately," the email summarized. "However, there is no need to suspend or delete government accounts until directed." The note does not mention the two critical retweets, both of which have been deleted, but a park ranger told Gizmodo agency employees believe those posts are what prompted the directive.

Saturday morning, the main NPS account posted an apology tweet, seen below, suggesting the ban may be temporary. Bonnie Kristian