“Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America?” is what Leigh van Bryan, 26, tweeted to friends about his upcoming trip to Hollywood, California. While “destroy” means “party” in British slang, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security flagged him as a potential threat, ultimately leading to his arrest after a five hour interrogation and spending 12 hours in a cell with Mexican drug dealers before being placed on a plane back home. Because he had also tweeted “3 weeks today, we're totally in LA p****** people off on Hollywood Blvd. and diggin' Marilyn Monroe up!”, a quote from the popular US animated comedy series “Family Guy”, U.S. authorities also decided to search his suitcase for digging tools.
His friend Emily Banting suffered the same treatment. She was supposed to act as Leigh's lookout while he set to work on Marilyn Monroe's grave.
In the future, both Leigh and Emily will have to apply for visas if they want to visit the US, as they are no longer eligible for the visa waiver program.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been criticized for scanning social networks such as Twitter and Facebook for certain terms such as “drill”, “strain”, “illegal immigrant”, “virus”, “strain,” and “collapse.”
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