A Facebook group with over 40,000 members supporting a far-right soldier on the run from Belgian authorities was taken down by the social network.
“We removed the group because it violated our policy on Dangerous Individuals and Organizations. Content, groups or pages that praises or support terrorists, like Jürgen Conings, are not allowed on Facebook or Instagram”, a Facebook spokesperson told POLITICO.
Conings’ personal account was also taken down later.
The group was launched last week to support Jürgen Conings, a soldier who threatened Belgian virologist Marc Van Ranst, and is said to be heavily armed. Belgian police and armed forces are still looking for Conings, who remains in hiding.
The company cited its policy on “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations,” in removing the group, which was also the basis for its crackdown on militarized social movements like the one that resulted in the Capitol Hill riots in the U.S. in January.