ST LOUIS — Senate candidate Vicky Hartzler's campaign said she has no plans to delete a tweet in which she wrote, "Women's sports are for women, not men pretending to be women," even after Twitter said she won't be able to tweet, retweet, follow or like posts until she does.
Twitter on Monday suspended Hartzler's personal account, saying the tweet in mid-February violated its rules against hateful conduct. The tweet included Hartzler's TV ad targeting transgender people in sports and particularly University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas.
A statement from Hartzler's campaign called the suspension "shameful, utterly ridiculous, and a horrible abuse of censorship by big tech giants to stifle free speech." The campaign said Hartzler will not delete the tweet.
Hartzler is congresswoman representing Missouri's 4th District. She is among several Republicans vying for the 2022 Senate seat. Incumbent Republican Roy Blunt announced last year he would not seek a third term.
