Instagram restores account of fallen troops mother acknowledges mistakenly deleting her

Facebook said Tuesday it mistakenly deleted the Instagram account of a grieving mother whose son was among the U.S. service members who died as a result of the ISIS-K attack at Kabul airport last week.

The Facebook-owned Instagram restored Shana Chappell’s access and said she did not violate any policies. Ms. Chappell is the mother of Marine Corps. Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, who was 20 years old.

“We express our deepest condolences to Ms. Chappell and her family,”  a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “Her tribute to her heroic son does not violate any of our policies. While the post was not removed, her account was incorrectly deleted and we have since restored it.”

The spokesperson did not answer why the account was restricted.

Before Instagram’s action, Ms. Chappell posted Monday on Facebook about the biased motivation she thought the company displayed in scrapping her account. She also wrote that she would not be silenced and said the blood of the at least 13 U.S. service members killed in the Kabul airport attack was on President Biden’s hands.

“It seems Instagram took it upon themselves to delete my account because i am assuming it was because i gained so many followers over my sons death due to Biden’s negligence, ignorance and him being a traitor!” Ms. Chappell posted on Facebook. “I’m gonna assume that Facebook is gonna delete me next. Funny how these leftist one sided pieces of crap don’t want the truth to come out! Keep in mind i only posted about my heart break over my son.”

She included a screenshot of Instagram notifying her that her account was disabled and she would need to appeal within 30 days to regain access. In a separate post, She said Instagram was reviewing months-old posts she made to justify disabling her account.

Ms. Chappell also tagged Mr. Biden and posted a message about her interaction with him at a private meeting on Sunday. She said Mr. Biden tried to interrupt her and rolled his eyes at her.

“[You] turned to walk away and i let you know my sons blood was on your hands and you threw your hand up behind you as you walked away from me like you were saying “ ok whatever!!!” Ms. Chappell said on Facebook. “You are not the president of the United States of America Biden!!! Cheating isn’t winning!!!You are no leader of any kind! You are a weak human being and a traitor!!!”

On Instagram, Ms. Chappell has published messages of grief and prayer, including for other families of those killed in Afghanistan and other American troops.

“Now i pray to you God that since you took my son from me that you give me the strength to continue living this life because all i want is to be with my son right now! #amen,” Ms. Chappell said on Instagram. “Kareemy you are my Hero and forever you will always be my baby. Stay by my side, please don’t leave me and help me to understand and push through. I need your courage and strength. I love you more than all the stars in the sky. God please watch over and protect our troops and get them all home safely. Amen.”

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