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Laura Loomer Banned from Uber & Lyft After Anti-Muslim Tweetstorm

In the wake of the New York terror attack, Loomer launched into an anti-Muslim rant on Twitter, calling for a new ride sharing company to be created that didn't employ Muslims.
Image: A Lyft driver navigates to her passenger
A Lyft driver navigates to her passenger on Feb. 3, 2016 in San Francisco.Mike Coppola / Getty Images for Lyft file

Conservative commentator Laura Loomer was banned from using Uber and Lyft after she posted a series of anti-Muslim tweets following the terrorist attack in New York.

A spokesman for the ride-hailing service Lyft confirmed Thursday that Loomer's account had been "deactivated" following her daylong tweetstorm that blamed Islam and Muslims for the deadly attack.

A representative for Uber also confirmed that Loomer was banned permanently from using the service.

Loomer launched into an anti-Muslim rant on Twitter Wednesday, calling for a new ride sharing company to be created that didn't employ Muslims, after it was revealed that Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in the New York terror attack, was a former Uber driver.

"Someone needs to create a non Islamic form of Uber or Lyft because I never want to support another Islamic immigrant driver," Loomer tweeted, tagging both companies in the post.

The tweet marked the beginning of a daylong anti-Islamic social media attack that blamed all Muslims for ISIS terrorism. Loomer also posted a photo of two women wearing hijabs near the intersection where Tuesday's attacks occurred, writing “I bet they’re loving this.”

Hours later, she re-tweeted reports that she’d been banned from both ride-sharing services. The 24-year-old has responded to the ban by announcing that she will be taking legal action against both companies.

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“Uber will literally hire an Islamic terrorist, but they will ban a conservative journalist for addressing legitimate safety concerns,” she tweeted.

The backlash to Loomer's rant was swift and vocal, with many critics accusing the online agitator of stoking racism in the wake of a tragedy. Celebrities also criticized Loomer’s posts, with model Gigi Hadid tweeting that she’s a "f***ing moron," and actress Alyssa Milano posting that she’d reported Loomer to Twitter for hate speech.

The blowback seemed to embolden Loomer, who continued tweeting about the ban Thursday.

Loomer describes herself as an independent journalist, but many of her critics have labeled her a vocal member of the alt-right. She previously worked for Project Veritas, which is run by far-right political activist James O'Keefe.