After being banned from Twitter twice in the past five years, political consultant Roger Stone celebrated his return to the social media platform on Wednesday.
Stone is one of the latest high-profile names whose Twitter ban was revoked now that Twitter is owned by Elon Musk.
“I have just been informed that my personal Twitter account has been reinstated. Will talk about it today at 5PM EST at stoneZONE.live. I’m BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK,” Stone wrote.
I have just been informed that my personal Twitter account has been reinstated. Will talk about it today at 5PM EST at https://t.co/PSmp5LFDIe.
I’m BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK pic.twitter.com/lAgwK1k8Xt
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) December 7, 2022
As noted by The Wrap, Stone made a return from his 2017 ban in April, when Musk’s plan to buy Twitter was first getting traction.
“Well b***hes I’m back on Twitter,” he wrote on Telegram after creating a new Twitter account. “I’m anxious to see how strong Elon Musk’s commitment to free speech is.”
Given that Musk did not own Twitter at the time, the effort to evade the 2017 ban issued against him reached a predictable conclusion, and the account was permanently suspended.
“I posted a new account to prove a point. I look forward to whoever made the decision to suspend my account getting fired. Attn: Elon Musk,” Stone said at the time, according to The Daily Beast.
“My new Twitter account was suspended after just six hours. So much for free speech. Just makes me like Telegram all the more,” he continued.
In April he told the Daily Mail that the ban “didn’t surprise me at all. But I’m hopeful that Elon Musk is true to his word and that this will really be a platform in which free speech and free expression are honored.”
Speaking generally about the platform and his hopes for it under Musk he said, “Under the old leadership Twitter had become boring. It’s no longer interesting when everyone thinks the same way. I’m hopeful he can restore it to what it was.”
Yeah !! Just followed you Roger Stone ! You are like a TIMEX watch —-takes a licking & keeps on ticking ! ??⏰⏰ https://t.co/8Ki0gLSA8q
— TRUMP STILL Prez ? ????? (@watch_maga) December 7, 2022
The 2017 ban from Twitter followed an eruption of expletive-laden tweets, according to The New York Times.
Among the things Stone said at the time was that CNN’s Don Lemon, “must be confronted, humiliated, mocked and punished.”
He said CNN’s Jake Tapper “must be held accountable for his lies and very severely punished.”
Stone told The Wrap after his 2017 ban that “I have been inundated on Twitter with bloggers threatening to kill me, my wife, my kids, and even my dogs, yet Twitter seems unconcerned about that.”
“This is just part and parcel of the tech left’s effort to silence conservative voices,” he added.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.