Twitter shares were down almost 4% in after-hours trading following the platform's announcement that the personal account of US President Donald Trump as well as his team's account would be banned permanently "due to the risk of further incitement of violence" following violent riots at the US Capitol on Wednesday.
As of 8 pm, shares were trading at $49.54, which is %3.77 lower than the closing price of $51.48 on Friday afternoon.
Twitter had already banned Trump's account earlier this week, but for just 12 hours. After the page was reactivated, Trump posted again, addressing his supporters and saying that they "will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future" and that he will not attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. Twitter then issued a statement, saying that it "determined that these Tweets are in violation of the Glorification of Violence Policy and the user @realDonaldTrump should be immediately permanently suspended from the service".
This comes days after crowds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building, where lawmakers were holding a session to officially count the Electoral College votes and confirm Democrat Joe Biden's presidential win. The riots resulted in the death of five people and left dozens more injured. The rioters also caused damage to parts of the Capitol building and its interior.
Trump had nearly 90 million followers on Twitter and had been using his account actively during his presidential term, often sparking public debates over statements he made there.
Earlier this week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts will be blocked for at least the next two weeks, until Biden is inaugurated as the next President of the United States.