Twitter Blocks Marsha Blackburn’s Inflammatory Senate Campaign Ad

Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn's U.S. Senate campaign announcement ad in which she states "stopped the sale of baby body parts," has been blocked from her Twitter account, the Associated Press reports.

Twitter's representive said the statement was "deemed an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction," according to the AP. It agreed to run the video if the comment is omitted.

Blackburn, who is running for soon-to-retire Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker's seat, took the fight back to her followers, urging them to repost the video and "stand up to Silicon Valley." Although she cannot pay to promote the video on Twitter, users can link it from other platforms onto the site.

The ad features Blackburn shooting a gun, showcasing her support of Donald Trump's travel ban, and boasting her anti-abortion credentials, which include chairing a Republican-run House panel put in place to investigate Planned Parenthood and its disposal of fetal tissue. It was created after videos were leaked in 2015 of Planned Parenthood officials discussing donations of fetal tissue to researchers, a legal act that is valuable to scientists in studying Down syndrome, eye disease, and other health concerns. Planned Parenthood receives reimbursement from researchers for costs associated with delivering the tissue and does not make a profit. But based on the selectively edited videos from a right-wing group, Blackburn and other Republicans claimed Planned Parenthood was selling fetal body parts and have urged Congress to stop all federal funding of the organization.

Blackburn is not just anti-abortion; she is also virulently anti-LGBT, having racked up a string of zeroes on the Human Rights Campaign's Congressional Scorecard as a U.S. House member. She opposes marriage equality and supports Donald Trump's reinstatement of the ban on military service by transgender people. Corker, who she is seeking to replace, is only slightly better on LGBT issues. Meanwhile, Tennessee State Sen. Mark Green, an intensely anti-LGBT lawmaker who had to withdraw as Trump's nominee for Army secretary, plans to seek Blackburn's House seat.

Blackburn is counting on her far-right credentials to bring her support in her Senate run. "I know the left calls me a wingnut or a knuckle-dragging conservative," she said in the ad. "And you know what? I say that's all right. Bring it on."