Airbnb bars users linked to white supremacist rally
Online rental service says individuals attending ‘Unite the Right’ event in Virginia removed for violating its policy
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The popular hospitality service Airbnb has canceled the accounts of a number of its users who were linked to an upcoming white supremacist rally in Virginia.
Ahead of the “Unite the Right” event, which is being promoted by alt-right leader Richard Spencer and the Neo-Nazi Daily Stormer website, a Neo-Nazi website said that it had rented all of the large properties in the city ahead of the event, a local NBC affiliate reported.
The rally, which is set to take place Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, is meant to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee from the city’s Emancipation Park, which was formerly known as Lee Park.
Following complaints from members, Airbnb canceled the accounts of the individuals affiliated with the event for violating the company’s user policies.
“In 2016 we established the Airbnb Community Commitment reflecting our belief that to make good on our mission of belonging, those who are members of the Airbnb community accept people regardless of their race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age,” the company said in a statement to NBC29.
“When through our background check processes or from input of our community we identify and determine that there are those who would be pursuing behavior on the platform that would be antithetical to the Airbnb Community Commitment, we seek to take appropriate action including, as in this case, removing them from the platform.”
Following the removal of the users, the Daily Stormer said Airbnb’s actions were an “injustice” and said legal action should to be taken against the company.
UNITE THE RIGHT
August 12, 2017
Charlottesville, Virginia pic.twitter.com/ZCqVA3tqA9— Richard Spencer ???????? (@RichardBSpencer) June 17, 2017
In addition to the cancellation of the Airbnb users’ accounts, the city of Charlottesville informed organizers of the event they cannot hold the rally at Emancipation Park as planned but rather at the city’s McIntire Park.
In response to the city’s decision, an organizer of the rally, Jason Kessler, said that the event protesting against “white genocide” would go ahead at Emancipation Park as planned, setting up a potential showdown with Charlottesville police.
https://twitter.com/TheMadDimension/status/894658893720190976
Kessler also said that legal action would be taken against the city for violating the event organizers’ First Amendment rights and accused Charlottesville officials of endangering their well being.
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