A PDS can refuse to host someone's data, an App View can refuse to serve content or specific users.

But, being decentralized, they cannot "remove them from the platform" depending on how we define this phrase

Being removed by Bluesky can certainly happen, in the sense that most people who are unaware ATProto is different from what came before, think about these things.

I too would like to see such claims backed up. Too many flags being planted to stake out ideological territory...