The Daily Mail reports today that two British tourists were detained overnight, questioned, searched and refused entry to the United States following Tweets which he posted to Twitter a few days before flying to the states.
Leigh Van Bryan, 26 tweeted:
“Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America?”
After landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on the afternoon of 23rd January, Leigh Van Bryan and his fried Emily Banting were detained and interviewed, after which they were handcuffed and transport to a overnight holding cell where they spent 12 hours before being returned to the airport and put on flight back to the UK.
Leigh Van Bryan was also asked about another Tweet which he had posted on January 16th:
“3 weeks today, we’re totally in LA pissing people off on Hollywood Blvd and diggin’ Marilyn Monroe up!”
The tweet is a quote from the TV show “Family Guy”
Officials also search the pair’s luggage (the Daily Mail report that this was a search for spades and shovels), and performed a full body search on Leigh Van Bryan.
They have been told that they must now apply to the US Embassy for visas before flying to the US again.
The Daily Mail also have a photograph of the first page of Department of Homeland Security paperwork detailing their detention, interview and refusal of entry to the US. The paperwork focusses on the content of the tweets.
This raises one very interesting question: how did Leigh Van Bryan’s tweets come to the attention of the Department of Homeland Security? Were they reported by somebody who followed / saw Leigh Van Bryan’s timeline, or is DHS/NSA actively mining the Twitter timeline for phrases such as “Destroy America”
The chilling effects of this case are obvious. Should it transpire that this incident occurred as a result of DHS/NSA mining Twitter, that is a serious cause for concern for every Twitter user.
The DHS has made the following statement:
“Based on information provided by the LAX Port Authority Infoline – a suspicious activity tipline – CBP conducted a secondary interview of two subjects presenting for entry into the United States. Information gathered during this interview revealed that both individuals were inadmissible to the United States and were returned to their country of residence.
CBP strives to treat all travelers with respect and in a professional manner, while maintaining the focus of our mission to protect all citizens and visitors in the United States. CBP denies entry to thousands of individuals each year on grounds of inadmissibility, some of which include: improper travel documents, prohibited activities or intent, traveling under the Visa Waiver Program without qualifying for participation in that program, smuggling of contraband or prohibited goods, criminal activity or history, immigration violations such as prior overstay, attempting to gain entry with fraudulent documents or posing as an imposter, and national security concerns, among others.
We recognize that there is an important balance to strike between securing our borders while facilitating the high volume of legitimate trade and travel that crosses our borders every day, and we strive to achieve that balance and show the world that the United States is a welcoming nation.”
Also reported in The New York Times. An interesting paragraph from their article is quoted here:
“The Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies have recently taken steps to improve their monitoring of social media. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a document released this month that it was seeking help from developers on an application to scan and scrape information from a variety of public sites and from government terrorism data.”
The story has also been reported on ABC News in The Sun and The Mirror