Elon Musk’s X bans transgender Harvard lawyer for naming a neo-Nazi

Alejandra Caraballo, a transgender attorney and clinical instructor at Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, has apparently been permanently banned from X (formerly Twitter) for amplifying news of an alleged neo-Nazi’s identity, adding to questions about the platform’s stance on content moderation under Elon Musk’s ownership. The development has fueled ongoing discussions around free speech, hate speech, and the treatment of far-right ideologies on the platform.

Caraballo confirmed the permanent suspension Tuesday morning. Over the weekend, she was temporarily suspended after she changed her profile name to include that of a right-wing extremist notorious for producing content laden with racist and anti-Semitic themes.

Related: Elon Musk and Libs of TikTok Team Up on Transgender Harvard Law Instructor

The extremist, who produces comic illustrations under the name StoneToss, was allegedly unmasked to be a 34-year-old former security guard and IT worker from Texas named Hans Kristian Graebener by a group of activists, Anonymous Comrades Collective and Late-Night Anti-Fascists on March 12, Wiredreports. Critics note that StoneToss’s content is often anti-Semitic, transphobic, racist, homophobic, and otherwise bigoted. Shortly after the group posted the person’s name and photo online, some users on X reported being suspended.

Related: This Transgender Harvard Law Instructor’s Front-Row Seat to Domestic Terrorism

Journalist Steven Monacelli commented on the unusual nature of the enforcement against Caraballo, noting, “Alejandra Caraballo’s account has been put into containment and her display name was changed so it doesn’t include the name of the neo-nazi cartoonist Stone Toss. I’ve never seen this sort of enforcement before. It seems Musk is pulling out all the stops to protect Stone Toss.”

Monacelli further remarked, “Alejandra Caraballo has been suspended. Her account is no longer accessible. All for posting the name of the racist and antisemitic cartoonist Stone Toss.”

Another X user criticized the platform’s decision, writing, “Alejandra Caraballo @Esqueer_ has been suspended again, this time indefinitely for talking about publicly available information naming a Nazi. X is going full fascist. There is only freedom of speech if Elon agrees with you.” This sentiment reflects growing apprehensions over X’s direction under Musk’s stewardship, particularly regarding content moderation and political discourse.

“Elon is personally directing Twitter to protect StoneToss,” Caraballo told The Advocate. “It’s clear through the over-the-top implementation that it’s haphazard and reactionary.”

X’s private information policy explicitly states that mentioning someone’s name is considered publicly available information and does not violate its guidelines. The actions taken against Caraballo have prompted questions about the consistency and objectivity of X’s policy enforcement, especially concerning sensitive political content.

“The fact that Twitter explicitly protects neo-Nazis is morally reprehensible,” Caraballo said, noting that "the person behind the neo-Nazi StoneToss comics personally appealed to his followers with a direct line to Elon. They listened and Twitter cracked down on anyone mentioning the name.”

After the alleged name of the creator spread on social media, StoneToss took to X, calling upon his followers and directly addressing Musk, voicing his stance against what he perceives as efforts to silence him and others on the platform. He declared, “One of you has a direct line to @elonmusk - and you need to use it,” he wrote. He also claimed, “This is about others I know personally. There is a whole ecosystem of artists out there who cannot (or have stopped) making art because of people on Twitter organized to punish them IRL for doing so.” He suggested that minor policy updates could improve the situation for far-right creators who have been chased off of other platforms.

Caraballo shared a screenshot from a violation notice that indicated that her account was suspended for violating X rules on abusive behavior after a user report. According to the notice, changing one’s profile name in a way that the company deems targeted harassment is a violation of the rules.

“I’m not surprised that they did this,” Caraballo said. “They look for any reason to ban people Elon dislikes, and that in particular includes trans people,” adding, “Andy Ngo has been personally trying to get me suspended, and Elon follows him now.”

Musk has previously made derogatory comments about Caraballo, calling her “crazy” in response to a post by Chaya Raichik, the creator of the anti-LGBTQ+ hate account Libs of TikTok.

Caraballo’s ban comes amid broader debates on X’s policies under Musk’s ownership, particularly concerning the treatment of LGBTQ+ users and the platform’s approach to hate speech. Caraballo had been vocal in criticizing X’s handling of far-right content and policy changes that she argued were harmful to the transgender community.

In early March, X faced significant backlash for reversing its policy on anti-trans hate speech. The policy had been designed to reduce the visibility of posts that misgendered or deadnamed users if reported by the targeted individual. The policy reversal, influenced by complaints from right-wing users and influencers, highlighted the platform’s wavering commitment to protecting LGBTQ+ users from harassment. Critics, including advocacy groups and individual users, condemned the change, underscoring a broader concern about X’s policies under Musk’s leadership.

According to GLAAD’s Social Media Safety Index, X is the worst platform for LGBTQ+ user safety.

In search of further insight, The Advocate reached out to the figure known as StoneToss but did not receive a response. When approached for a comment regarding Caraballo’s ban, X responded, “Busy now, please check back later.”

However, late Tuesday night, in response to a post from Libs of TikTok, Musk claimed he didn’t know why Caraballo had been suspended.

“I’m not sure why this account was suspended, but, under our new policy, permanent suspensions are extremely rare and would require many repeated illegal actions (unless obviously just a spam/scam account),” he wrote.

Four hours later, Musk responded to another Libs of TikTok tweet, writing, “The team just informed me that there were several doxxing violations by this account, despite repeated warnings. The suspension is just for a few days, but the suspension time will increase with each repeated violation.”

Caraballo said her suspension is detrimental to her work in bringing national attention to untold stories and coverage of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation but that her work will go on.

“I still have other platforms, so I’ll keep going regardless. Twitter has lost most of its relevancy anyways as it has descended into a cesspit of hate and spam bots,” Caraballo said.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect late-night remarks from Elon Musk on X regarding Caraballo’s suspension.