Trump news live: Latest updates as Republicans rage at president’s Twitter ban

An article of impeachment seeking to remove Donald Trump from office will be introduced on Monday, Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu confirmed on Saturday.

Lawmakers are moving to impeach the president for “inciting an insurrection at the Capitol”, according to the article of impeachment. 

Derrick Evans, the West Virginia lawmaker who was among rioters who stormed the US Capitol, resigned on Saturday.

Mr Evans has been charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds, CNN reports.

A federal magistrate judge in his home state released him on his personal recognisance after he appeared in court on Friday afternoon, according to court records.

Mr Evans broadcast video from Facebook Live in which he can be heard shouting: “We’re in! We’re in, baby!” as he walked through a doorway of the Capitol as part of a crowd.

He has denied participating in the violence and destruction of property and has since deleted the video, but not before it was shared on social media.

Extremists are planning more violence ahead of Inauguration Day, experts have warned, in the wake of the US Capitol riots which left five people dead and dozens injured.

“We are seeing … chatter from these white supremacists, from these far-right extremists – they feel emboldened in this moment,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, told CNN.

“We fully expect that this violence could actually get worse before it gets better.”

Danielle Zoellner reports for The Independent.

The New York Times reports that in the days leading up to Wednesday’s rally on the Ellipse, White House officials had to refuse a suggestion from Donald Trump to join his supporters in marching to the Capitol.

The president also reportedly wanted to bring in the National Guard to stop any anti-Trump groups from disrupting the march.

Mr. Trump had told advisers in the days before the march that he wanted to join his supporters in going to the Capitol, but White House officials said no, according to people briefed on the discussions. The president had also expressed interest beforehand in calling in the National Guard to hold off anti-Trump counterprotesters who might show up, the people said, only to turn around and resist calls for bringing those troops in after the rioting by his loyalists broke out.

During his speech at Wednesday’s rally, the president did say “we” will march to the Capitol, but then returned to the White House. Meanwhile, those loyal to him began to riot and stormed the legislative complex.

CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju posted photos of the damage still evident from the storming of the Capitol on Wednesday.

While the president is reportedly going “ballistic” in the West Wing over his Twitter ban, there is silence from the East Wing of the White House.

Melania Trump has not tweeted since 1 January when she wished everyone a Happy New Year.

CNN reported that the first lady was hosting a photoshoot on the Wednesday as rioters loyal to her husband stormed the Capitol.

First lady Melania Trump has “blood on her hands” and is “complicit with the destruction of America”, according to her former best friend and confidante Stephanie Winston Wolkoff.

Writing for The Daily Beast, Ms Winston Wolkoff says: “Every single MAGA mob rioter who stormed the U.S. Capitol did so ‘at the direction of, and in coordination with’ President Trump, and it was an assault on human life and our great democracy. Unfortunately, our president and first lady have little, if any, regard for either.

Later she writes: “Melania represents what is wrong in America … these ideas go back to the ’50s where women were silent and pretty, racism was rampant, immigrants did the dirty work, and men made fortunes in dirty ways. Many wives of malignant American men have done the same. At their core they are Machiavellian. Win at all costs. And make it look pretty. Melania knows exactly what is going on. Melania has always had her own agenda, BE BEST says it all. Be Best no matter what the cost.”

The New York Times reporting on the Trump Twitter ban includes this interesting nugget — Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey called into meetings regarding the decision while on vacation in French Polynesia.

Inside Twitter, employees and executives have debated how to treat Mr. Trump’s account. Mr. Dorsey has been vacationing on an island in French Polynesia this week, but called in to meetings, three people with knowledge of his location said. On Thursday, he sent an email to employees saying it was important for Twitter to remain consistent with its policies, including its policy of allowing a user to return after a temporary suspension, according to one person who received the email.

A senior administration official told Politico  that Donald Trump is “ballistic” following his permanent ban by Twitter.

In a statement issued by the White House, the president said that he is “negotiating with various other sites” while “we also look at the possibilities of building out our own platform in the near future.”

The Trump Twitter Archive has indexed more than 56,571 of his tweets since May 2009, with 26,237 of them posted since his inauguration in 2017.

Politico also reports that the idea of a “last farewell interview” was floated, but the official doesn’t not think it will come to fruition.

Actress Kirstie Alley has joined the roster of right wing figures that have called out Twitter for banning Donald Trump.

Seizing on a statement by the ACLU that the unchecked power of social media companies should be of concern to everyone, Ms Alley tweeted: “ALL people should be concerned is the KEY here. It’s  true, the average person will no longer have a platform to speak their views. This is called SLAVERY. This censorship proves BIG TECH now holds the keys to the chains.”