Earlier this month, a Twitter employee temporarily deactivated the Twitter account belonging to President Donald Trump. After initial reports stating that it was an error, Twitter said a contractor had taken action on his last day. Now, after a massive search by journalists, the former employee revealed himself to TechCrunch. Bahtiyar Duysak, a German citizen of Turkish descent, was the man behind Trump’s Twitter account deactivation. He had reportedly worked for Twitter as a contractor with a firm named Pro Unlimited.
Duysak said the move was a “mistake” and he told TechCrunch that he never thought his account would be deactivated. He claimed the deactivation took place due to a series of “coincidences” that took place on his last day. “I had a wild time in America,” Duysak said. “I was tired sometimes. And everyone can do mistakes. I did a mistake.”
Duysak told TechCrunch that a Twitter user had reported Trump for abuse on his last day. “As a final, throwaway gesture, he put the wheels in motion to deactivate it,” TechCrunch reported. “Then he closed his computer and left the building.” Duysak did not explain his motivation or offer any other comments on the president. He said he did not believe that Trump’s account would be deactivated.
Duysak says he does not believe he is under investigation by the FBI, while Twitter has asked him for more information. He said he hopes to live a regular life and said he did not plan to work in the tech field anytime soon. “But I love Twitter,” he told TechCrunch. Duysak added, “And I love America.”