Facebook on Monday issued a warning to employees urging them to avoid wearing company T-shirts and other branded products in public after the social media platform suspended President Trump’s account late last week in the wake of deadly rioting at the U.S. Capitol.
“In light of recent events, and to err on the side of caution, global security is encouraging everyone to avoid wearing or carrying Facebook-branded items at this time,” Facebook told employees in an internal memo obtained by The Information, a technology news site.
The Information reported that the social media company’s security team posted the memo to an internal workplace board accessible by more than 56,600 employees.
The Hill has reached out to Facebook for comment.
Facebook announced in the aftermath of violent rioting by a pro-Trump mob at the Capitol Wednesday that it was banning Trump from the platform at least until President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
“We believe the risks of allowing the president to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post.
On Monday, Facebook also announced it was taking down content containing the phrase “Stop the Steal” in the wake of the siege in order to prevent the further spread of Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him. Trump repeated the claims to a crowd of supporters before last week’s events at the Capitol.
Law enforcement officials and experts monitoring online posts warn that Trump supporters and right-wing extremist groups are planning future demonstrations that could potentially lead to violent activity.
Trump supporters are expected to gather in Washington, D.C. and state capitals across the country on Sunday and then again three days later for Biden’s inauguration next Wednesday.
One flyer associated with Sunday’s gatherings tells participants to “come armed at your personal discretion.”
The FBI has reportedly received information of a group calling for the “storming” of state, local and federal government buildings if efforts are taken to remove Trump from office before Biden’s inauguration, according to a bulletin first reported by ABC News.
House Democrats on Monday introduced an article of impeachment against Trump, charging him with inciting a mob of his supporters to carry out last week’s violent attack on the Capitol. The House is expected to vote on impeachment Wednesday.