Twitch removes popular emote after pro player's support for Capitol Hill mob

Twitch has removed a widely-used "PogChamp" emote from its platform after Ryan "Gootecks" Gutierrez, a pro Street Fighter player whose excited reaction inspired the image, tweeted support for the pro-Trump mob that stormed the United States capitol yesterday.

In a Twitter statement, the video streaming platform that the decision to remote the Pogchamp emote was made "following statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence after what took place in the Capitol today."

It's a small action that captures the ripple effects of how yesterday's chaotic assualt has spread to all aspects of everyday life. "PogChamp" was the fifth-mosed emote on Twitch, according to tracking service StreamElements.

A crowd of Trump supporters swarmed the United States Capitol with little intervention from the building's police force yesterday, seemingly intent of disrupting the certification of president-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.

Guitierrez spurred them on after word began to spread that a woman had been shot in the middle of the chaos. "Will there be civil unrest for the woman who was executed inside the Capitol today or will the #MAGAMartyr die in vain?" he tweeted.

Content created Natasha "Zombaekillz" Zina quickly flagged the post and asked if Twitch would continue to allow an emote featuring Gutierrez's face to be widely used on the service.

Guitierrez's comments have not led to his own accounts being suspended on any platform.

In its posting, Twitch said it would be working to replace the emote with a new one in the near future.