Bitcoin is the talk of Miami this weekend at a big conference that’s seeing plenty of attention in the tech and cryptocurrency world. But a talk from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was derailed on Friday by a Trump-loving troll with a troubled history with the social media network.
Laura Loomer, an alt-right activist with a long history of using Twitter to abuse others until she was banned from the platform in 2018, interrupted Dorsey’s talk at Bitcoin 2021 to protest what she’s described as censorship on the social media platform. Dorsey, the Twitter CEO, was speaking in favor of Bitcoin when the talk was interrupted by a woman shouting. She had to be stopped by security, but not before causing a stir.
Lady freaks out on @jack at @TheBitcoinConf #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/glS3jdJ5vs
— Value & Time (@valueandtime) June 4, 2021
That “lady,” as it turns out, was Loomer. The alt-right activist is no stranger to attention-grabbing protests. She famously once chained herself to Twitter headquarters to protest her ban from the platform, which came as a result of violating Twitter’s rules in a series of false attacks against Ilhan Omar, a Muslim member of congress.
When Dorsey did get to speak, though, he certainly talked a big game about the future of currency when it comes to Bitcoin, saying it “changes absolutely everything” and called for an end to banking in favor of the growing crypto market.
"We don't need the banks anymore." @jack #Bitcoin2021 #BitcoinMiami pic.twitter.com/XXZtz7iqKv
— cackles (jeff weisbein) (@jeffweisbein) June 4, 2021
It’s unclear if this will help her overturn her Twitter ban, but as of Friday she’s certainly in interesting company when it comes to deplatforming.