Mailchimp blocked Virginia's top gun-rights group from sending newsletters through its service for unspecified reasons.
The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) announced Wednesday night that its account with the leading mass-distribution service had been suspended. The tech giant failed to provide any reason for the decision. The blackout has left the group scrambling to find an alternative.
"There was no justification," Philip Van Cleave, the president of the VCDL, told the Washington Free Beacon. "They provided nothing. Basically, they just said we need to get our stuff and be prepared to move on."
The suspension comes as social media and tech companies have begun to purge users, including President Donald Trump, from their platforms in response to the deadly Capitol riot and subsequent FBI warnings about the potential for further violent attacks. Tech companies claim they are only targeting extremists and attempting to interrupt plans for violence, but critics believe the effort is overly broad, sweeping up peaceful and legitimate conservative groups.
