WHOOPS

Twitter ‘Deeply Sorry’ for Dismissing Complaint About Accused Bomber Cesar Sayoc

The company says it “made a mistake” when it failed to take action over online threats against a former Democratic aide.

Twitter has apologized for failing to take action after receiving a complaint about threatening tweets by a user who turned out to be mail bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc Jr. Rochelle Ritchie, a former Democratic aide, had alerted the company to an apparent threat from Sayoc’s account posted just days before he allegedly sent more than a dozen pipe bombs to Democratic leaders and prominent Trump critics, including former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. In a tweet accompanied by a photo of Ritchie and a news story about a dead teenager, Sayoc allegedly told her to “hug your loved ones real close every time you leave you [sic] home.” Twitter reviewed the tweet but found that it had not violated user policies against “abusive behavior.” After finally suspending Sayoc’s account Friday afternoon, Twitter issued a statement saying it was “deeply sorry” for dismissing Ritchie’s complaint. “We made a mistake when Rochelle Ritchie first alerted us to the threat made against her,” the company said.