Discord bans Reddit-linked pro-Trump server tied to attack on the U.S. Capitol

We’re all judged by the company we keep. 

With that adage seemingly in mind, Discord moved Friday to ban a pro-Donald Trump server from its platform. TheDonald, as the server was titled, allowed likeminded individuals to digitally gather and was directly linked the recently banned r/DonaldTrump subreddit and a separate discussion forum, thedonald.win. 

Following the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol building by pro-Trump extremists, an action which led to five deaths, Reddit banned the r/DonaldTrump subreddit for “inciting violence.” Thedonald.win, itself an offshoot of a previously banned subreddit r/The_Donald, was likewise home to numerous calls for violence. 

“While there is no evidence of that server being used to organize the Jan 6 riots, Discord decided to ban the server called TheDonald yesterday due to its overt connection to an online forum used to incite violence, plan an armed insurrection in the United States, and spread harmful misinformation related to 2020 U.S. election fraud,” a Discord spokesperson confirmed over email. 

This is not the first time Discord has moved to ban rightwing extremists from its platform. In 2017, following the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Discord shuttered a server associated with a white supremacist website.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy against hate and violence of any kind on the platform, or the use of Discord to support or organize around violent extremism,” added the Discord spokesperson. 

Members of thedonald.win did not take the ban well, calling Discord “pedos” and saying “these CEOs need to be dragged out into the street.” 

Notably, as of the time of this writing, there are active discussions on thedonald.win about committing violence against politicians: “hunt these corrupt politicians that stole this election like stalking deer, a few shots from long range and then vanish. Then plan for the next one and repeat, see who can get the high score.”

SEE ALSO: Reddit just banned r/DonaldTrump for ‘inciting violence’

With this in mind, it’s no wonder that Discord finally washed its hands of the entire thing. 

One has to wonder what took it so long.