Two British tourists travelling to Los Angeles were refused entry to the U.S. on security grounds over Twitter jokes
LOS ANGELES, CA -- Two British tourists were refused entry to the United States after the Department of Homeland Security flagged them as a potential terror threat.
Twitter joke
Leigh Van Bryan, 26, had posted a message on Twitter prior to his U.S. trip with his friend Emily Bunting, 24.
The tweet read: "Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America?"
Terror suspect
Referring to his intention to have a good time and party in America, Van Bryan's tweet raised suspicion of being a terrorist at the U.S. Department for Homeland Security.
Upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, the pair were detained by armed guards and interrogated by U.S. officials.
Their attempts to explain that by "destroy" they meant "party" failed as Homeland Security agents were conducting thorough interviews to assess the severity of the perceived terror threat.
"The Homeland Security agents were treating me like some kind of terrorist," Mr Bryan said.
"I kept saying they had got the wrong meaning from my tweet."
Throrough interrogation
Following five hours of interrogation, the pair were locked up for 12 hours overnight before before being driven back to the airport where they were put on a plane home.
Homeland Security: "Striking a Balance"
The Department for Homeland Security released a statement following the event, saying:
"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," the statement read.
Social media as source of intelligence
The incident comes as U.S. intelligence and security agencies are increasingly monitoring social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to identify possible terror threats.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently outlined the objectives of its social media monitoring program:
Objectives outlined by the FBI for monitoring soical media accounts
* Detecting potential threats
* Developing threat profiles
* Outlining possible courses-of-action
* Determining timeframe for action by bad actors
* Identifying and developing tactical picture of the location for threat events
* Developing intelligence products for counter-measures
ABTA warning for holidaymakers
ABTA, which represents travel companies in the UK, told BBC News that holidaymakers need to learn to be ultra-cautious when it comes to talking about forthcoming trips, particularly after 9/11.
"Airport security staff do not have a sense of humour when it comes to potential risk," an ABTA representative told the BBC.
"Posting statements in a public forum which could be construed as threatening - in this case saying they are going to "destroy" somewhere - will not be viewed sympathetically by US authorities," it warned.
LOS ANGELES, CA -- Two British tourists were refused entry to the United States after the Department of Homeland Security flagged them as a potential terror threat.
Twitter joke
Leigh Van Bryan, 26, had posted a message on Twitter prior to his U.S. trip with his friend Emily Bunting, 24.
The tweet read: "Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America?"
Terror suspect
Referring to his intention to have a good time and party in America, Van Bryan's tweet raised suspicion of being a terrorist at the U.S. Department for Homeland Security.
Upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, the pair were detained by armed guards and interrogated by U.S. officials.
Their attempts to explain that by "destroy" they meant "party" failed as Homeland Security agents were conducting thorough interviews to assess the severity of the perceived terror threat.
"The Homeland Security agents were treating me like some kind of terrorist," Mr Bryan said.
"I kept saying they had got the wrong meaning from my tweet."
Throrough interrogation
Following five hours of interrogation, the pair were locked up for 12 hours overnight before before being driven back to the airport where they were put on a plane home.
Homeland Security: "Striking a Balance"
The Department for Homeland Security released a statement following the event, saying:
"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," the statement read.
Social media as source of intelligence
The incident comes as U.S. intelligence and security agencies are increasingly monitoring social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to identify possible terror threats.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently outlined the objectives of its social media monitoring program:
Objectives outlined by the FBI for monitoring soical media accounts
* Detecting potential threats
* Developing threat profiles
* Outlining possible courses-of-action
* Determining timeframe for action by bad actors
* Identifying and developing tactical picture of the location for threat events
* Developing intelligence products for counter-measures
ABTA warning for holidaymakers
ABTA, which represents travel companies in the UK, told BBC News that holidaymakers need to learn to be ultra-cautious when it comes to talking about forthcoming trips, particularly after 9/11.
"Airport security staff do not have a sense of humour when it comes to potential risk," an ABTA representative told the BBC.
"Posting statements in a public forum which could be construed as threatening - in this case saying they are going to "destroy" somewhere - will not be viewed sympathetically by US authorities," it warned.
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