Trump tweets his mugshot from Fulton County jail in first post on site since Jan. 6, 2021 suspension

Former President Donald Trump posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a photo of his mugshot and a link to his website for the first time since his suspension following the riots at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Earlier Thursday, Trump made history by becoming the first former president to pose for a mugshot after his arrest for trying to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.

At 9:38 p.m., just hours after being processed and released from the Fulton County Jail, @RealDonaldTrump tweeted for the first time in two years a link to Trump’s website and a photo of his already viral mugshot.

He captioned the mugshot photo with two statements: “ELECTION CONTRIBUTION” and “NEVER GIVE UP” with another plug attached to his website address.

Trump also posted the same message on his own Truth Social page, but this is a surprise return to X, which the former president had banned under his former name before reinstating it after Elon Musk took over the site.

The site initially suspended Donald Trump’s account for 12 hours before finally issuing the permanent ban after praising the mob that stormed Congress, saying he “loved them.”

One of the deleted tweets read: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred, landslide election victory is so unceremoniously and viciously taken from great patriots who have been mistreated and unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love and peace. Remember this day forever!’

In the deleted video, he added fuel to the fire, claiming the election was “stolen” and telling rioters he “loved them.”

Twitter said it removed the tweets for violating their “Civic Integrity Policy.”

“As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, DC, we have demanded the removal of three @realDonaldTrump tweets posted earlier today alleging repeated and serious violations of our civil integrity policy,” the social media company said.

Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have previously tagged content the president has posted over the past year with warnings, particularly his allegations about voter fraud and COVID-19.

During the 2020 presidential election, the platforms labeled dozens of Trump’s tweets with false or misleading claims of voter fraud.

However, this was the first time Twitter had flagged a tweet as “at risk of violence.”

In November 2022, after acquiring the social media giant, Elon Musk reinstated the account.

Before he was banned he was an unstoppable tweeter. There were no new tweets from Trump using Twitter as his primary means of communication, both during his election campaign and while in office.

His tweets would move the markets, set the news cycle and set the agenda in Washington.

The controversial decision came just three weeks after Musk acquired the social media company for $44 billion and after he held a public vote that saw 15 million users vote.

After 24 hours of voting, the poll showed 51.8% pushing for Trump’s return to the platform.

Musk tweeted, “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated.”

“Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk added, a Latin phrase that roughly means “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”

“Fascinating to see the Twitter Trump poll!” Musk said that earlier Saturday morning in an explosion of tweets from the controversial and pushy new owner of the one-to-many messaging platform.

Trump initially said he would not return to Twitter, preferring instead to focus on his Truth Social app.

“I don’t see any reason for it,” the former president said via video when asked if he planned to return to Twitter by a panel at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting.

“I like him… you know, he’s a character and again, I like characters,” Trump said of Musk.

“He did a survey and it was very overwhelming…but I have something called…Truth Social.”

Trump said he would stick with his new platform, the app developed by his startup, which he said had better user engagement than Twitter and was doing “phenomenally well.”

But at the time of his suspension, Trump had nearly 90 million followers. When the account was reactivated on Saturday night, all of Trump’s followers had been removed, but the number soon surpassed 1 million.

Trump has about 4.57 million followers on his Truth Social platform.

Truth Social has been Trump’s primary source of direct communication with his followers since he began posting regularly on the app in May 2022.

He has used Truth Social to promote his allies, criticize opponents and defend his reputation amid legal scrutiny from state, congressional and federal investigators.

Trump has issued a statement regarding the poll and the possibility of being reinstated in office. “Vote positive now, but don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere,” Trump said. ‘Truth Social is special!’

However, his agreement with the company opens the door for Trump to bet extensively on other platforms. Trump is required to give Truth Social an exclusive six-hour window on any post — but is free to post “political posts, political fundraisers, or attempts to vote” on any site at any time, according to an SEC filing from May .

Trump, who was making a bid to reclaim the White House in 2024, praised Musk and said he had always liked him. But Trump also said Twitter was plagued by bots and fake accounts and that the problems it faced were “incredible.”

“They have a lot of problems with Twitter. You see what’s going on. It might make it, it might not make it, but the problems are incredible,” Trump said.

Musk, the new owner of Twitter, said in May 2022 that he would reverse Twitter’s ban on Trump, whose account was suspended following the attack on the US Capitol in January 2020.

Musk had previously tried to reassure users and advertisers that such a decision would be made with consideration for a content moderation board made up of people with “widely differing views,” and that no account recovery would take place until the board convened.

He also said Twitter would not reinstate banned users until there was a “clear process for this.”

There is no new information about the process or the moderation board.

A Trump no-show could allay concerns among major advertisers already upset by Musk’s drastic overhaul of Twitter.

Musk is in the middle of a massive restructuring of the company, including massive layoffs, but he also seems to be part of his own fun with his new $44 billion purchase.

The recovery of accounts removed for violating Twitter’s content moderation rules is seen as an indication of where Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” wants to take the site.

Musk has widely criticized Twitter’s suspension policy and promised to bring back prominent figures.

He says he will punish people who post hateful messages by suppressing the visibility of their accounts – but he won’t ban them outright because of his unwavering belief in free speech.