Hasan Piker, a popular left-wing political commentator, has been suspended from the live-streaming platform Twitch for the “improper handling of terrorist propaganda.”
A 24-hour suspension notice from the platform to the 33-year-old streamer followed his remarks regarding the shooting deaths of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday evening.
While the notice didn’t point to specific comments made by Piker, inappropriate behavior could include showing a violent extremist manifesto on stream while denouncing it and speaking out against terrorist organizations while displaying a recruitment video, according to Twitch.
Piker has 2.8 million followers on the platform.
“I covered the motives of the Israeli Embassy staff shooter. Twitch [terms of service] dictates a suspension for even critical examination of the manifesto,” Piker wrote on X, referring to written comments allegedly made by Elias Rodriguez, the suspected shooter.
“I believe this is a bad policy for news and press freedom. I’ll take the suspension, but hope Twitch changes this policy in the future,” he said.
Rodriguez has been charged with federal and local murder offenses in connection with the deaths of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26. The couple left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum and were gunned down.
Lischinsky was hoping to propose to Milgrim during an upcoming trip to Israel.
During a livestream after the murders, Piker said: “I’m not saying it is a false flag incident at all, I’m not saying that, I think this is just one dude who is genuine in his actions and maybe a little bit brain broken.”
A flood of social media users denounced Piker’s comments. In one X post, a user wrote: “You called it a false flag. You hate the Jewish people and you are antisemitic.”
“Ironically enough, I was showing his motive to dispel the rumors of a false flag, which is the reason for this suspension but I don’t think you’re capable of critical thought,” Piker wrote in response.
The Independent has emailed Twitch for comment.
Earlier this month, Piker said he was grilled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Officials spent two hours questioning him about his views on Donald Trump and the war in Gaza, prompting concern from civil liberties advocates.
“I think they did it because they know who the f*** I am, and they wanted to put the fear of God into me,” Piker said about the encounter.
