Unhinged anti-LGBTQ+ Republican banned from Instagram for hate speech

Valentina Gomez, the failed GOP candidate for Missouri secretary of state who once set LGBTQ+ books on fire using a flamethrower for a campaign ad, has been removed from Instagram following multiple organizations reporting her posts, including GLAAD.

Gomez’s Instagram was full of messages supporting her primary campaign, which she lost in a stunning defeat in August.

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A spokesperson for Instagram’s parent company Meta told The Advocate, “I can confirm that, due to frequent and repeated violations of Meta’s hate speech policies, we have disabled this account.”

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Gomez’s account had around 90,000 followers. In one of her last posts, on September 17, she continued to use hate speech and complained about X (fomerly known as Twitter) demonetizing her account. 

A GLAAD representative said they reported the post to Instagram the following day, and the platform removed her account 72 hours later. 

GLAAD also noted that in September and August alone, Gomez posted 14 videos with anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

On X, Gomez posted a video about the Instagram ban, saying that she was banned because she was working as a “live decoy to catch pedophiles, groomers, and criminals.”

Citing several conspiracy theories involving Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Gomez called herself “the most beautiful and based profile since 1776” and called on Congressional Republicans to “release the Diddy tapes.”

“I’m banned, but Diddy isn’t,” she complained.

I’m banned, but Diddy isn’t. Free the Diddy tapes. @instagram you are complicit with pedophilia. pic.twitter.com/hmMyhRD09w

— Valentina Gomez (@ValentinaForUSA) September 23, 2024

Gomez frequently used the F-slur, recently saying anyone who didn’t vote for her is a fa**ot. 

One of her main campaign slogans was “Don’t be weak and gay,” but she got online attention earlier this year when a video of her running in a Kevlar vest went viral.

In the video, she said, “In America, you can be anything you want. So don’t be weak and gay. Stay f**king hard.”

She also lost her job with Nestle Purina after her numerous anti-LGBTQ+ stunts. In a video talking about her no longer working with the dog food company, she claimed, “Today, I fired them. No amount of money, stock, or bullying will make me compromise my values. So I will never support a company that wants to empower and protect pedophiles and groomers in our schools and libraries.”

Gomez most recently posted on Instagram about Imane Khelif, an Olympic boxing champion who was the subject of online hate after anti-trans public figures incorrectly called her a trans woman. The post described Khelif as a man and called her the F-slur, which was flagged for breaking Meta’s community guidelines.

GLAAD president and chief executive Sarah Kate Ellis said Instagram’s “unfortunate” slow reaction to Gomez’s hateful posts caused her to escalate her language and to post more. 

“Hopefully, this latest action is a sign that Meta will prioritise enforcing its policies when it comes to disgusting lies, slurs and calls for violence against our community,” Ellis said.

Gomez lost her primary in August, finishing in sixth place.

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