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Ali Alexander -- the pro-Trump organizer of the "Stop the Steal" movement -- calls himself one of the originators of the D.C. rally that preceded the Capitol riots ... but he claims he got help from 3 Congressmen.

The right-wing activist had been vocal for weeks about holding a huge event on January 6 in order to stop Congress from certifying the election win for Joe Biden, and he stated on video he schemed with 3 GOP Representatives to make it happen -- Andy Biggs and Paul A. Gosar from Arizona and Mo Brooks from Alabama.

All 3 GOP lawmakers are hard-line Trump supporters and have links to Alexander through video and social media posts ... and Ali claims their plan was to put "maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting."

He adds that they wanted to "change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body, hearing our loud roar from outside."

As you know, the D.C. rally for President Trump was followed by a march to the U.S. Capitol, where an angry mob of his supporters violently stormed in ... resulting in 5 deaths.

Alexander and his "Stop the Steal" group have been banned from Twitter, and though he's denied inciting the riot ... the 3 Republicans are taking heat for aiding him.

Biggs and Brooks have denied involvement with Alexander in organizing the Jan. 6 rally, and Gosar has not responded yet.

As we've reported ... Democratic members of Congress like Rep. Jim Clyburn have suggested the Capitol riots were part of an inside job facilitated by GOP politicians -- though he didn't name names. Similarly, Rep. Mikie Sherrill claimed she saw some of her GOP colleagues leading groups on "reconnaissance" tours of the building the day before the insurrection.

President Trump might have to resort to opening a MySpace account to be "online" -- because the guy can't get bandwidth anywhere else right now ... not even on Shopify.

DT has been banned from a handful of social media apps and social networking websites well beyond Twitter and Facebook/Instagram -- which booted him earlier this week after they say he used their platforms to incite a violent insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.

Since then ... even more companies have taken steps to keep their pages Trump-free, including some you never thought the Prez might use, be it posting or consuming.

Among those that've blocked/restricted Trump and/or Trump content -- Pinterest (for #StoptheSteal items), Shopify (for MAGA and other related merch), Twitch (no more Trump live streams), Snapchat (gone is Trump's account), Reddit (the r/The_Donald thread is dead) and even TikTok (which Trump was trying to ban himself, ironically enough).

Remember, Twitter pulled the plug permanently on Trump's Twitter account -- his go-to platform the past several years -- citing further potential calls to violence, directly or indirectly ... this after Trump's 12-hour suspension expired, and he tweeted to his "patriots" yet again.

Twitter's move to boot him for good also came after Facebook/Instagram did something similar ... suspending his account indefinitely, at least until Biden's inauguration is done.

There is one place Trump could possibly turn to in order to get his voice on the Internet again -- Parler (a social networking site/app that caters to the extreme right) is still open for business ... but it too is at risk of getting blacklisted on mainstream app stores.

Google already nixed it entirely -- meaning you can't download it anymore if you're an Android user -- but Apple hasn't done so yet. On Friday, they gave Parler a 24-hour deadline to provide stricter guidelines about regulating posts ... but, it's still available as of now.

President Trump no longer has to worry about character counts or typos in his tweets, because Twitter has deemed him too dangerous for its app ... and booted him PERMANENTLY.

Twitter made the call Friday to ban the outgoing Prez, after temporarily suspending him earlier this week following his comments about the Capitol riots he's accused of inciting.

According to Twitter ... it's now a permanent ban for Trump "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."

The decision comes after Facebook and Instagram also extended Trump's suspensions from one day to indefinite.

Twitter says ... "In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on  Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action."

It then claimed 2 of Trump's tweets from Friday were the last straw in its decision to pull the plug on his account. The first tweet read ... "The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!"

This was followed up by Trump tweeting that he would not be attending the inauguration on Jan. 20.

So, Twitter came to this conclusion -- "Due to the ongoing tensions in the United States, and an uptick in the global conversation in regards to the people who violently stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, these two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks."

A UT Chattanooga football assistant coach has just been fired ... after school officials say he penned an "appalling," "unacceptable," and "totally inappropriate" political post on social media this week.

Chris Malone, the Mocs' now-former offensive line coach, went to his personal Twitter account on Tuesday to fire off a vile tweet over the Georgia runoff elections results.

In the four-sentence statement, Malone took aim at Georgia politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams -- who many have credited for helping the democrats flip the Peach State blue.

"Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams because you have truly shown America the true works of cheating in an election, again!!!" Malone said in the tweet.

"Enjoy the buffet Big Girl!! You earned it!!! Hope the money is good, still not governor!"

The tweet -- and Malone's entire social media account -- were eventually taken down ... but school officials still dropped the hammer on the guy, firing him Thursday morning.

"Last night, a totally inappropriate social media post by a member of our football staff was brought to my attention," UTC director of athletics Mark Wharton said. "The entire post was appalling."

"The sentiments in that post do not represent the values of our football program, our athletics department or our university. With that said, effectively immediately, that individual is no longer a part of the program."

Added UTC head coach Rusty Wright, "Our football program has a clear set of standards. Those standards include respecting others. It is a message our players hear daily. It is a standard I will not waiver on."

"What was posted on social media by a member of my staff is unacceptable and not any part of what I stand for or what Chattanooga Football stands for. Life is bigger than football and as leaders of young men, we have to set that example, first and foremost. With that said, effectively immediately, that individual is no longer a part of my staff."

Malone was in the middle of his second stint at UTC before his firing Thursday -- he had previously coached for the Mocs in 2014 and 2015.

Malone worked at Old Dominion in between the two UTC stops from 2016-2018.

Mark Zuckerberg is keeping President Trump in social media timeout indefinitely ... and Trump is being muzzled at least until President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.

Zuck announced Thursday he's extending Trump's Facebook and Instagram ban at least two more weeks until the inauguration on Jan. 20 ... saying it's too risky to let the President post whatever crops up in his dome.

Zuckerberg says FB and IG didn't have a problem with Trump posting whatever he wanted over the last 4 years, other than occasionally removing content or slapping warning labels on Trump posts, but the attempted coup changed the game forever.

Zuck's change of heart goes like this ... he says, "the shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden."

Remember ... Trump's also suspended from Twitter after his tweet storm during Wednesday's chaos at the Capitol.

So, now Trump needs a plan B to get his message out.  He hates TV and online news, he can't go on social media ... so the walls are closing in on him.

Twitter has had enough of President Trump's tweets following the storming of The Capitol by his supporters, suspending his account, for violations of the platform's Civic Integrity policy.

Trump fired off a series of tweets and posted a video of himself Wednesday, one tweet read, "These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!"

Twitter deleted the tweet along with several others shortly after Trump's message. The social media giant then announced Trump's account was suspended for at least 12 hours for repeated and severe violations of the company's Civic Integrity policy.

Twitter says Trump must permanently remove the deleted tweets -- and he will then start a 12-hour suspension -- if he does not remove them, his account will remain locked.

Then there's this ... Twitter says if Trump violates the rules again, it will lead to a permanent suspension of his account.

Dionne Warwick is getting her wish ... Teyana Taylor wants to play the iconic singer on the small screen in a potential series!!!

Here's the deal ... Dionne's latest Twitter fun involved pitching Netflix on a series about her life and career, and she made clear she would only want to see Teyana cast as her. Next thing ya know ... the 2 singers were hashing it out.

Our sources tell us Dionne reached out to Karen Civil, a member of Teyana's team, and Karen connected them by phone. We're told DW and TT spoke for a while about Dionne's biographical series ideas, and Teyana expressed her desire to play the part.

Teyana not only wants to play the starring role, we're also told she and DW discussed producing the series through TT's production company, "The Aunties Production."

With Teyana on board, our sources say Dionne and her son, Damon, feel like TT is just like family now.

For now, we're told Netflix has expressed interest in a potential series ... but Dionne's fam is still working out logistics. Recruiting Teyana was their first priority, though.

If it comes to fruition, it will be a milestone for both women: Producing-wise for Teyana, and for Dionne ... her first biopic series.

Dionne Warwick's musings on Chance The Rapper and The Weeknd are turning into tangible benefits -- they're getting together to help feed the hungry.

Here's the deal ... Dionne and Chance are working together on an initiative to feed homeless people, after starting a friendship on Twitter. Chance announced Tuesday on Windy City LIVE in Chicago they'll be raising money with a new song -- and TMZ's learned The Weeknd will be joining them for the collab.

Dionne's son, Dionne Damon Elliott, tells TMZ ... he's writing and producing the track, which is called "Nothing's Impossible." DDE says The Weeknd decided to get in on the action after a phone call with Dionne, where he expressed how food insecurity is personal for him. The Weeknd was once homeless himself.

We're told money from song streams will benefit Hunger Not Impossible ... an org connecting folks in need with prepaid, nutritious to-go meals from local restaurants all over the country.

DDE says the track will drop early next year ... they haven't nailed down a release date because production is in the early stages. We're told Dionne's sent some of her vocals over to Chance and The Weeknd.

Kim Kardashian says she's feeling "messed up" after her failed attempt to save Brandon Bernard from execution, because she strongly believes he was a reformed person ... and the system failed him.

Kim vented shortly after Brandon was executed by lethal injection Thursday night in Indiana, declaring ... "This just has to change: Our system is so f*cked up."

Kim also gave details of Brandon's final moments before he was put to death. She said, "Brandon wanted me to tell every single person who worked on his behalf supporting him in any way a huge thank you." Kim says this public support and faith that he wasn't who he was as a teenager when he was convicted was a gift to his family, and made him feel validated.

Kim added, "I could go on and on about what an amazing person Brandon was. I do know he left this earth feeling supported and loved and at peace." She says his attorney called to says Brandon wanted her to know he loved her and thanked her for championing his cause.

As we reported ... Kim's public support of Brandon and attempt to stop his execution did not sit well with the family of his victims, who called her out for it.

Matthew Morrison probably thinks fans who saw his performance in "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical!" have hearts 2 sizes too small ... 'cause they're going off about his hyper-sexual take on the Grinch.

The "Glee" star drenched himself in the green getup for Wednesday night's musical on NBC, but instead of softening hearts around the world, things got strange.

With lots of moaning, heavy breathing and come hither stares into the camera ... many viewers felt MM went bizarrely overboard with his portrayal.

You could almost hear people at home screaming, "That's a no for me, dawg" ... which is a pretty good summary of the Twitter reviews. One viewer even said, "Sending matthew morrison the bill for all the therapy i’ll need after watching his bizarrely sexual interpretation of the grinch."

After the show, Matthew posted a video of himself taking off his makeup while singing "For Good" from the popular play, "Wicked."

Nice PR move, but it still didn't distract fans from taking out their frustrations. Some of them included concerned parents who said their kids had nightmares.

As one unhappy customer put it, "matthew morrison doing an incredibly cursed rendition of the grinch is the most fitting way to end this wretched year imo, we r in hell."

There won't be a revenge game OR a comeback season for Dez Bryant ... the Ravens WR just quit the remainder of the 2020-21 campaign after testing positive for COVID-19 minutes before kickoff against the Cowboys.

The 32-year-old vet documented the bizarre chain of events on Twitter minutes ago ... saying he was warming up for Tuesday night's game when he was pulled off the field for a coronavirus test -- and it came back positive.

"Tell me why they pull me from warming up so I can go get tested... my s**t come back positive," Dez tweeted. "I tested positive for Covid WTF."

"The crazy thing is i have the same damn routine.... this s**t do not make sense to me."

It's already been a tough road back to the gridiron for the former All-Pro receiver -- he suffered an Achilles injury in his first practice with the New Orleans Saints in 2018 ... and was hoping to make an impact in Baltimore.

So far, he's had 3 game appearances and 4 receptions for 28 yards for the Ravens.

And, that may be all he'll rack up for the season ... 'cause Dez just tweeted he's done.

Chance the Rapper is a study in redundancy ... this according to none other than Dionne Warwick, and her words sent Chance into orbit!!!

Dionne tweeted Saturday night, "If you are very obviously a rapper why did you put it in your stage name? I cannot stop thinking about this."

Solid point, Dionne. Chance flipped out, but not because of Dionne's note. He fired back, "Sorry I'm still freaking out that u know who I am. This is amazing!"

Dionne, who's a big fan of Chance and loves "Holy," responded, "Of course I know you.  You're THE rapper. Let's rap together." Our take ... THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!!

But, Dionne wasn't done ... after calling herself "Dionne the Singer," she wondered, "The Weeknd is next. Why?  It's not even spelled correctly?"

He then responded ... "I got roasted by Dionne Warwick and I feel honored! You just made my day."

"Black Panther" star Letitia Wright says she was just trying to raise her concerns about a potential coronavirus vaccine by sharing a video made by a vaccine skeptic ... but she raised a major controversy instead.

Wright, who plays T'Challa's sister, Shuri, got a ton of backlash after posting a link to a baseless anti-vaxxer video Thursday night on Twitter ... and then tweeting her apparent support of its message.

In the vid, the presenter questions the safety and efficacy of vaccines in general, and gives fact-free opinions on what's possibly in the COVID-19 vaccine and why it could be dangerous. Letitia included the prayer hands emoji with her post.

Soon afterward, she began engaging angry Twitter users who called her out for spreading misinformation ... and explaining it away by claiming she was just asking questions.

After some more arguing, she tweeted ... "if you don’t conform to popular opinions. but ask questions and think for yourself....you get cancelled."

Don Cheadle, a fellow MCU star, got involved in the online war of words because angry fans tagged him about Wright's tweets -- and after watching parts of the vid she posted ... he seemed pretty upset with her himself.

He wrote ... "jesus... just scrolled through. hot garbage. every time i stopped and listened, he and everything he said sounded crazy and fkkkd up. i would never defend anybody posting this. but i still won't throw her away over it."

Wright has since backtracked a little from the message in the anti-vaxxer vid, and tweeted a half-apology Friday morning.

Steven Spielberg just got court-ordered protection from a woman he believes is threatening to murder him.

The famed movie mogul filed legal docs seeking a restraining order against a woman named Sarah Char, who he claims has been harassing him for months and sending death threats.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Steven says law enforcement told him the woman tried to purchase a gun to kill him. He claims she's been arrested for criminal threats, harassment and stalking.

According to the docs, Steven says he got a Twitter message from Char saying ... "If I have to personally MURDER people for stealing my IPs‚ I WILL. Get me?"

Steven says he's scared the woman will follow through with her threats, and he says he's concerned for his family too.

Jose Canseco is taking the old adage "talk sh**, get hit" for real ... 'cause just hours after Logan Paul made a sex joke about his daughter -- the ex-MLB star said he's dead serious about fighting the YouTuber!

If you missed it, just one day after Jake Paul ruthlessly KO'd Nate Robinson in their celeb fight over the weekend ... Jose threw his name into the hat to be one of the Paul brothers' next scraps.

"I will fight anyone of the Logan Brothers," Jose said, "they have enough for anyone with any type of talent yet or fighting skills."

Logan -- who used to date Jose's famous model daughter, Josie -- saw the tweet Monday ... and issued a SAVAGE response.

"no problem," Logan wrote, "i love smashing cansecos."

As you'd imagine, the Tweet got Jose fired up ... and he clapped back at the older Paul bro just hours later on Tuesday morning -- saying he wants a fight ASAP!!

"Okay since you like smashing Canseco Logan get ahold of my agent Mike Maguire let's get this done," Jose said. "And by the way no headgear needed for this fight I have a hard head."

Jose even went on to say he could tap Floyd Mayweather to train him for the bout!!

"Then you'll really be in trouble," Jose said.

Selena Gomez is no longer the butt of a couple jokes from the new "Saved By The Bell" cast -- after tons of backlash, the show's removing the kidney jokes.

The new Peacock series scrubbed all references to Selena's kidney transplant after the outrage started pouring in Saturday ... but an edited version is already streaming. So, a pretty quick about-face.

As we reported ... eagle-eyed Selena fans noticed 2 references in the reboot to the pop star's 2017 surgery, and they started raising hell on social media over the weekend and even got "RESPECT SELENA GOMEZ" to trend online.

The first reference was cavalier ... 2 high school classmates loudly discussing Selena's kidney transplant in the middle of a hallway.

The second Selena dig was more subtle, but just as offensive to some folks. A wall in the background of a scene had graffiti or paint that read in big bold lettering, "DOES SELENA GOMEZ EVEN HAVE KIDNEYS?"

Lots of folks called the jokes disgusting and said Selena's life-or-death transplant was nothing to joke about.