Controversial pastor Greg Locke, who has railed against Covid-19 face masks and vaccines, says Twitter has permanently suspended his account.

"Twitter just permanently suspended my account. Welcome to America," he said on Facebook.

Locke is the pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, near Nashville, Tennessee, and has spoken against mask-wearing from the pulpit. 

In his Easter sermon, he told his congregation not to wear face masks unless advised to by their doctors on medical grounds. 

"Unless you're under a doctor's orders — and a few of you are — take them stupid masks off when you come to Global Vision! There, I said it on Easter. Take them stupid masks off," Locke said. "Call me crazy? You come, pull up in the parking lot wearing two masks in a car by yourself. Call me crazy? That's crack-smoking crazy is what that is."

In a sermon last month, Locke told people not to get vaccinated against Covid-19, and rubbished fears about the Delta variant.

"The Delta variant was nonsense then, it is nonsense now," he told a cheering crowd.

"You will not wear masks in this church. You will not wear masks in this church. I'm telling you right now: 'Do not get vaccinated. Do not get vaccinated.'"

Twitter has a 'COVID-19 misleading information policy' which bans people from using the platform "to share false or misleading information about COVID-19 which may lead to harm."

The penalties for violations include tweet deletions, labelling, and suspensions.

Permanent suspensions are reserved "for severe or repeated violations of this policy". 

Locke called Twitter the "censorship Nazis" and said his attorney has filed a class-action lawsuit against the social media giant.