Laura Loomer Handcuffs Herself To Twitter's Chelsea Office

CHELSEA, NY — The far-right activist Laura Loomer handcuffed herself to Twitter's Chelsea offices for more than two hours Thursday to protest her removal from the social media site. Equipped with a bullhorn and wearing a yellow Star of David, Loomer accused Twitter of ideological discrimination while chained to a door of the West 17th Street building.

Loomer started the protest around 4 p.m. and police cut her free at 6:10 p.m., the NYPD said. Police were questioning her but she has not been arrested, an NYPD spokesman said.

Twitter reportedly shut down Loomer's account last week after she posted a tweet saying U.S. Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who is Muslim, is "anti-Jewish" and belongs to a religion in which "women are abused."

"It is unacceptable that in America, in the current year, that conservatives are being wiped away from the internet for posting facts or simply having an opinion," Loomer shouted.

"I would tweet about this, but I'm banned from Twitter," she added.

Loomer asked why Twitter took her off the site but has allowed Louis Farrakhan, who has made several anti-Semitic remarks, to stay active.

Another conservative figure, Jane Ruby, is streaming Loomer's protest on Periscope. Police at one point directed bystanders to move across the street. "We don't know what's going on right now," one officer said.

A female officer at one point approached Loomer and told her that Twitter was not pressing charges and that she can remain handcuffed to the door as long as she wants as long as she doesn't block access to the building.

Loomer at one point said she would stay put "as long as it takes" and that she "threw away the key."

Patch editor Caroline Spivack contributed to this report.

(Lead image: Laura Loomer, right, is seen at Politicon in Los Angeles in October 2018. Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Politicon)