Twitter bans Ed Rybicki, later restores account: Twitter permanently banned virologist Ed Rybicki for violating the platform's rules against "posting violent threats." In a blog post about the incident, Rybicki said said his "long-time Twitter and social media friend" shared a series of "cat pictures that he takes in his garden, while walking his cats - all dressed up in their little harnesses." Rybicki responded to the post, "@MackayIM Come near me with that feckin' lead and I rip your face..." Twitter suspended his account, claiming "You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people." Rybicki appealed Twitter's decision four times. Every time, Twitter denied the appeal. After several users allegedly contacted Twitter Support, the platform agreed to restore Rybicki's account if he deleted the tweet.