Following our report yesterday on Vox deputy editor Emmett Rensin, who called on people to “start a riot” if Trump visited their town, and claimed “property damage is not violence” has been suspended by Vox Media.
Rensin’s comments followed violent anti-Trump protesters in San Jose, California, where a number of Trump supporters were injured. The Vox editor refused to condemn the acts of violence, and criticised other anti-Trump pundits who did.
Now he’s been suspended from Vox Media. In a statement, Vox editor-in-chief Ezra Klein said Rensin’s tweets could “put others in danger.”
On Thursday night, Emmett Rensin, the deputy editor of Vox’s first person section, sent a series of tweets that, among other things, urged people to riot if Donald Trump comes to their town.
We at Vox do not take institutional positions on most questions, and we encourage our writers to debate and disagree. But direct encouragement of riots crosses a line between expressing a contrary opinion and directly encouraging dangerous, illegal activity. We welcome a variety of viewpoints, but we do not condone writing that could put others in danger.
In this case, Emmett’s tweets violated Vox’s standards and Emmett has been suspended as a consequence.