Two British tourists were refused entry into the USA after
joking on Twitter that they were going to destroy America
and dig up Marilyn Monroe. Leigh Van Bryan was handcuffed
and kept under armed guard in a cell for 12 hours after landing
in Los Angeles with pal Emily Bunting.
The Department of Homeland Security flagged him as a
potential threat when he posted an excited tweet to his pals
about his forthcoming trip to Hollywood which read:
Free this week, for quick gossip/prep
before I go and destroy America?
Leigh was also quizzed about another tweet which quoted hit
US comedy Family Guy which read:
3 weeks today, we're totally in LA
pissed people off on Hollywood Blvd and diggin Marilyn
Monroe up!
After making their way through passport control at Los
Angeles International Airport (LAX). the pair were detained by
armed guards. Despite telling officials the term destroy
was British slang for party, they were held on suspicion
of planning to commit crimes. They were held in cells for
12 hours and then put on a plane back home. The couple must now
apply for a US visa should they ever want to travel to America
again.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was recently
criticised over false accounts it set up on Twitter. These are
then used to scan networks for sensitive words and then
for tracking the people who use them. Online privacy group, the
Electronic Privacy Information Centre requested information on
the surveillance, but this was not forthcoming. However words
deemed as being sensitive by the DHS include: Illegal
immigrant, Outbreak, Drill, Strain, Virus, Recovery, Deaths,
Collapse, Human to animal, and Trojan.
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Authorities
say 16 and 17 year old girls have been charged with sending nude
pictures of themselves to an Iowa man who's been charged for
possessing the photos.
