#Stripe drops Trump campaign site after Capitol riots

Payments processor Stripe has booted President Trump’s campaign website from its service, blaming Wednesday’s assault on the Capitol for the move.

The San Francisco-based firm, whose tech allows sites and businesses to accept credit card payments, is distancing itself from the embattled commander-in-chief and his team, claiming they violated the company’s policies against encouraging violence, the Wall Street Journal reports.

It’s not the first time Stripe has responded to violent real-world events by suspending clients. The financial technology company previously suspended right-wing Twitter competitor Gab in 2018 after it was discovered that the gunman who killed 11 at a Pittsburgh synagogue posted anti-semitic messages on the site.

Stripe’s terms and conditions state that it won’t process payments for an organization that “engages in, encourages, promotes or celebrates unlawful violence or physical harm to persons or property.”

The Trump campaign reported that it raised more than $200 million in recent months. The campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the move by Stripe.

Stripe is only the latest tech firm to deplatform the president. Twitter permanently suspended President Trump’s account last week following the pro-Trump riots that left five dead, including a Capitol Police officer, while Facebook suspended his account at least through President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

In explaining its decision, Twitter said, “Plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.”