About

#NoFlyList is a hashtag that became popular on various social media platforms, particularly Twitter, following the 2021 Storming of the United States Capitol, where users began posting videos of people getting kicked off of flights for allegedly being involved in the protest, as well as memes referencing the situation.

Origin

The hashtag first appeared on Twitter on January 6th, 2021, in a comment^[1] by @ritadbird to a post by conservative YouTuber Mark Dice, who shared a video of a Donald Trump supporter confronting Mitt Romney about the Capitol protest (shown below).

The hashtag saw lite use throughout the day as Twitter users demanded those involved in the protest be added to a no-fly-list. On the same day, Tom Nichols retweeted^[2] a viral video of Trump supporters causing trouble on a plane, with many commenters wondering why they didn't stop the flight, and calling for them to be added to the no-fly-list (shown below).

Spread

The hashtag picked up steam over the following days as Twitter users and officials continued to demand those involved with the storming of the Capitol be added to the no-fly-list. On January 7th, The Washington Post^[3] reported that the Flight attendant union pushed to have the Capitol rioters banned from flying home.

On January 8th, David Hogg tweeted suggesting those involved in the protests shouldn't be allowed to own guns, to which @Wendy4SD quote-retweeted^[4] adding "Or fly. #NoFlyList #Terrorists" garnering over 8,300 likes and 1,000 retweets in 4 days (shown below).

Users also began sharing videos of people they wanted added to the list, as well as videos of people being kicked off planes, in many cases assuming that the people are related to the protest. On January 8th, for example, @askyourself316 tweeted^[7] a video of a Trump supporter yelling in an airport, writing, "#NoflyList please start with her #whoisshe" garnering over 160,000 views and 1,600 likes in 4 days (shown below).

On January 10th, the FBI posted an image to Twitter^[5] of all the people involved with the riot that they're seeking information on (shown below), as well as a link where users could submit tips.

On January 11th, Joseph Morris uploaded a compilation of Trump supporters being kicked off planes and out of airports in relation to the hashtag to YouTube,^[8] garnering over 336,000 views in under a day (shown below, left). Dirty Cues uploaded a similar video titled "No Fly List Videos Compilation 2021" to YouTube^[9] on the same day (shown below, right). The video gained over 30,800 views in 18 hours. On the same day, @NoFlyListVids started collecting and posting videos related to the hashtag to their Twitter account.^[6]

On January 11th, @TalbertSwan tweeted^[10] a video of a man being detained at the airport, screaming, "You treat me like a black person" under the hashtag, garnering over 34,000 likes and 15,000 retweets in a day (shown below).

@AlCustod7o tweeted^[11] a video from TikTok of a man reacting to a Trump supporter being arrested at the airport, garnering over 21,000 likes and 4,600 retweets in 20 hours (shown below).

On January 11th, @Shasta22280543 tweeted^[14] a meme referring to the no-fly-list, garnering over 6,600 likes and 680 retweets in a day (shown below, left). On January 12th, @LouGarza86 tweeted,^[15] "Guess who's not on the #NoFlyList" along with a photograph of Colin Kaepernick in an airport, garnering over 3,200 likes in 6 hours (shown below, right).

TikTok

Many of the videos shared on Twitter under #NoFlyList were taken from TikTok. The hashtag also saw use on the platform. On January 10th, shogun_stickxg uploaded a skit to TikTok^[12] acting out an interaction between a person on the no-fly list and an airport worker, garnering over 100,000 views in 2 days (shown below, left). Justlydeserved posted a video to TikTok^[13] theorizing that Parler is partly responsible for outing the identities of those added to the no-fly-list to the FBI, as users can submit their driver's licenses to the app for verification (shown below, left). The video gained over 526,000 views in a day, however, the theory is unconfirmed.

On the same day, Clint Thomson, a network administrator, posted a TikTok^[16] suggesting ways other than cameras and social media posts that those involved in the riots might have been identified, garnering over 197,000 views in 2 days (shown below). The video was reshared on Twitter^[17] on January 11th, garnering over 9,400 likes and 2,400 retweets.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References