John “Tig” Tiegen, a retired U.S. Marine who served on the security team that defended the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya during the Sept. 11, 2012 attack, had his Facebook and Instagram accounts disabled over the weekend.
On Saturday, Tiegen tweeted a screenshot of a Facebook notice that his account was disabled. According to the screenshot, Tiegen was told his account had been disabled because it “did not follow our Community Standards.”
— John “TIG” Tiegen (@JohnTiegen) October 10, 2020
It was not clear from the message Facebook sent Tiegen why his account was disabled.
On Monday, Tiegen shared another screenshot showing that his Instagram account was also disabled. Facebook is a parent company to Instagram.
Tiegen tweeted, “IG is deleting my account” along with a screenshot of the Instagram notice, which states “Your Account Has Been Disabled.”
IG is deleting my account pic.twitter.com/yb7xMOLesf
— John “TIG” Tiegen (@JohnTiegen) October 12, 2020
The Colorado Springs Gazette reported that Tiegen supports President Donald Trump and had organized a political rally event in Denver, Colo. on Saturday called the “Patriot Muster,” in which a man was fatally shot by a security guard accompanying a 9News crew. Images from the shooting incident appeared to show the shooting victim, Lee Keltner, in an altercation with the 9News security contractor, identified as Matthew Dolloff. During the altercation, Keltner sprayed mace at Dolloff, as the security contractor fired a handgun, fatally striking Keltner.
Fox News reported Monday that Dolloff was taken into custody by the Denver Police Department on suspicion of first-degree murder, but that he hadn’t yet been formally charged. Fox also reported the victim, Keltner was a Navy veteran and expressed support for police. By contrast, resurfaced Facebook posts by Dolloff indicated he had held views critical of Trump, in one post referring to a pro-Trump button as “racist” and another post referring to the Trump administration as a “fascist dictatorship.”
The rally organized by Tiegen also faced counter-demonstrators who gathered for a dueling event, billed as a “Black Lives Matter Anti-Fascist Soup Drive,” was reportedly organized with the Denver Communists, Colorado Socialist Revolution, Anon Resistance Movement, W.I.T.C.H. Denver, H.O.E.S (Help on Every Street) and Front Range Mutual Aid Network.
According to the Gazette, Tiegen promoted the “Patriot Muster” event with a Facebook post stating, “Don’t let the communists, socialist party and groups intimidate or oppress you any longer! Come join us and be heard & seen and celebrate OUR freedoms.”
According to the Gazette, Tiegen also wrote what appeared to be coded advice to concealed firearms carriers attending the rally. On Facebook, Tiegen wrote, “P.S. For Mechanical pencil that offers a concealed eraser, top lead advance and removable Clip no more than .15 mm lead allowed in each. City of Denver ordnance (sic).”
The Gazette did not indicate in its reporting if the Facebook posts led to the social media company’s actions against Tiegen’s accounts.
