Dustin Franz/Getty Images
- Elon Musk reinstated Michael Flynn on Twitter on Friday — two years after the deadly Jan. 6 attack.
- The former national security advisor was one of the most vocal 2020 election deniers.
- Flynn thanked Musk directly in a Friday tweet for allowing him back on the platform.
Former national security advisor Michael Flynn — one of the most vocal 2020 election deniers — had his Twitter account reinstated Friday on the two-year anniversary of the deadly January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
The retired army general had been off the platform since two days after the insurrection when Twitter suspended his account, for “coordinated harmful activity.” Prior to his suspension, Flynn frequently shared falsehoods and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election results with his more than 1 million followers.
The former Trump advisor became increasingly brazen in propagating conspiracy theories in the aftermath of the riot; he falsely claimed the COVID-19 virus was a hoax created to steal the 2020 election last year and advocated for Christianity to become the singular religion in the United States in November 2021.
Flynn on Thursday mentioned during a podcast appearance that he was still banned from Twitter. Roger Stone, a staunch Trump ally soon took up Flynn’s cause, tweeting directly at Twitter CEO Elon Musk asking the billionaire to reinstate Flynn.
At some point on Friday afternoon, Flynn’s account reappeared on the Twitter timeline. He tweeted Musk directly thanking the Tesla CEO for reinstating his account.
“I want to personally thank @elonmusk for all he is doing to help protect our basic human rights, especially our freedom of speech,” Flynn tweeted. “And thanks for allowing me back on @Twitter . To all who offered their strong voices of support to bring me back, thank you! God Bless America”
—LTG (R) Mike Flynn (@GenFlynn) January 6, 2023
Neither Musk nor a Twitter representative immediately responded to Insider’s questions about Flynn’s reinstatement or the timing around it.
