Facebook, Instagram delete controversial figure James Allsup’s accounts

August 21, 2019 1:08 AM

Erin Robinson,

Posted: August 21, 2019 1:08 AM

Updated: May 20, 2021 10:55 AM

by Erin Robinson

Facebook, Instagram delete controversial figure James Allsup’s accounts — James Allsup.

Former Washington State University College Republican president and white nationalist James Allsup said Instagram and Facebook have shut down his accounts.

Allsup discussed the removal of his accounts in a YouTube video and said they were deleted on August 12, which he pointed out was the anniversary of the Charlottesville Riots.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, announced earlier this year that it would crack down and ban posts, photos and other content that reference white nationalism.

Allsup has said he prefers to be called an “American Nationalist” despite being linked to the American Identity Movement (previously called Identity Evropa) which has been dubbed a white nationalist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In his video, Allsup said his Instagram page is mainly used for posting pictures of his wife, child and car projects. He goes on to say he had a strict rule about not posting political content to his Instagram.

Allsup had thousands of followers on Facebook and Instagram, and has over 450,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, which is still active. He said his videos have been “demonetized,” meaning his video uploads do not generate ad revenue.

In his video, Allsup said he plans to fight back and is launching what he calls the “Public Square Initiative,” a political organization he said is devoted to fighting for all Americans’ right to speak freely in modern public spaces.

In 2017, Allsup resigned as the president of WSU’s College Republicans after he participated in the Charlottesville rally. Shortly after, he was elected as a Whitman County Republican Party Precinct Committee Officer after he ran unopposed. The Whitman County GOP later voter unanimously to eject him from its ranks.

4 News Now has reached out to Facebook directly regarding their decision to delete Allsup’s accounts. At the time of this writing, Facebook had not responded with a statement.