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Irish tourist deported and barred from US after 'destroy America' tweet

Joking tweets about partying and quotes from “Family Guy” lands holiday makers in prison

BERNIE MALONE,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Monday, January 30, 2012, 1:26 PM

Updated Friday, February 10, 2012, 4:29 PM

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Emily Bunting and Leigh Van Bryan deported from LAX and banned from US over joke tweets

Photo by SWNS.COM

An Irish citizen and his friend have been deported and banned from the United States after some innocent joking tweets were misunderstood by special anti-terror specialist agents.

Leigh Van Bryan, a 26-year-old Irishman, who works as a barman in Coventry, Britain innocently tweeted his friend Emily Bunting before their vacation to Los Angeles. Special agents who were monitoring Twitter saw Van Bryan’s messages weeks before his trip.

The Sun reports that his tweets joked about “digging up Marilyn Monroe” and destroying America. One of his texts read “Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America”.

In another tweet Van Bryan quoted an episode of the US comedy series “Family Guy” saying “3 weeks today, we're totally in LA p*ssing people off on Hollywood Blvd and diggin' Marilyn Monroe up!”

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Van Bryan and Bunting were picked up at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and held by armed guards, on 22nd January. They were handcuffed and questioned for five hours before being put in a van with illegal immigrants and locked up overnight. They were held in separate holding cells for 12 hours before they were deported.

Van Bryan told the Sun he was held in a guarded cell with Mexican drug dealers.

The pair explained to the officers at LAX that the term “destroy” in Britain means partying. However the pair were kept on suspicion of committing crimes.

After the fact Van Bryan said “It's almost funny now but at the time it was really scary…The Homeland Security agents were treating me like some kind of terrorist. I kept saying they had got the wrong meaning from my tweet but they just told me 'You've really f***ed up with that tweet, boy'.”

The agents told their suspects they would check their lugguage for spades and said they suspected that Bunting was to act as a “lookout” while Leigh raided Marilyn Monroe’s tomb.

Bunting said “Officials told us we were not allowed into the country because of Leigh's tweets.

“We just wanted to have a good time on holiday. That was all Leigh meant in his tweets.”

Forbes reported that the Department of Homeland Security charging sheet stated “Mr. Bryan confirmed that he had posted on his Tweeter [sic] website account that he was coming to the United States to dig up the grave of Marilyn Monroe…Also on his tweeter [sic] account, Mr Bryan tweeted that he was coming to destroy America.”

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kaydog1 | Apr 06, 2013, 07:46 PM EDT

Thank GOD (and President Obama) we stopped them.

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irishpjk | Feb 01, 2012, 02:18 PM EST

They almost got in but on that day we were already over our quota for idiots in the country.

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joycean | Feb 01, 2012, 02:02 PM EST

The United States isn't a police state, but security is now very tight. I watched a documentary about the security around New York City. The police monitor every inch. They can locate some one in New York Harbor who has undergone rediation treatment. I think these two would have ended up being deported for being drunk and disorderly even if they had been let into the country.

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citizen69 | Feb 01, 2012, 12:12 PM EST

Land of the free? You're having a laugh. The USA is now a police state.

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esatdigiwank | Feb 01, 2012, 07:44 AM EST

No doubt now that numbskull dork understands that his sense of humor/borrowed vernacular/ what-ever-you-call-it is not appreciated everywhere. He must not be with the times. Probably does not read newspapers.

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sirpeter | Jan 31, 2012, 07:40 PM EST

When are ye getting the full body X-Ray scanners?It won't be long now.Enjoy your virtual strip search.I know your 10 year old daughters/sons won't feel violated in the least as you look at the guy and wonder if he's a pedophile.

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joycean | Jan 31, 2012, 07:22 PM EST

In British current slang "destroy" means getting drunk, partying(?). The charateristic of slang is that it is vocabulary that has only limited usage: only a certain group uses it and it may only be used in a certain limited goegraphical area. Also, American English is a separate dialect from British English. If you want to be understood by a larger audience, it is best to avoid slang. I could say "destroy" means anything, but unless the person I am speaking to knows what I mean, it isn't communication. These young people should have been sent packing. Coming to this country with the intention of getting drunk and behaving like idiots doesn't win my sympathy.

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merefalow | Jan 31, 2012, 05:55 PM EST

brilliant example of BIG BROTHER in all his one brain celled hyped up overkill,pity all their college boy agents missed a bunch of arabs who only wanted to learn to take off but not land.duh.

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jamieLM | Jan 31, 2012, 02:38 PM EST

@irishcoffeekid - you're absolutely right. Make these kinds of comments in private, not in public, the net, social networking sites, cell phones, or be prepared for the consequences.

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beachcomber | Jan 31, 2012, 02:31 PM EST

How do we really know that the agents in question threatened to look for spades in their luggage? The agents weren't interviewed here, just two ignorant people who learned the hard way that everything you do or say on the internet is monitored and may come back to bite you in the butt. Sometimes, just sometimes, it would be nice if people stopped to think for a moment. And unfortunately, in this day and age, sometimes the only thing that people in authority can do is follow their rules and make an example of people who need to be made an example of. I'm not saying they were or were not harsh, but we don't honestly know what was said behind closed doors...all we have is the word of disgruntled vacationers. Sure, it's sad for them, but welcome to the world we live in. JamieLM said it best...when in another country, you're a guest...be respectful. It's possible to be funny and respectful at the same time...or is that a lost art these days? AND JUST BECAUSE YOU SEE IT ON TELEVISION DOESN'T MEAN YOU GET A FREE PASS TO SAY IT TOO, JACKASSES. And I love Family Guy.

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irishcoffeekid | Jan 31, 2012, 01:11 PM EST

way past time people cop on to the fact that the US AGencies are monitoring the social networks and any smart assed comments you make are taken serious now because they can't afford to be ignored. you reap what you sew!

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jamieLM | Jan 31, 2012, 11:49 AM EST

@sirpeter, I do get your point. I still think that it's stupid to make threats, even if you're just joking around. Threats are serious business in the age of terrorism and if you're stupid enough to make them, even in jest, be prepared for the consequences. When I visit Ireland, for example, I consider myself to be a "guest" in the country. I'm respectful of the people, the laws, and the customs of Ireland. I don't complain, whine, or make threats, even jokingly, of any kind to anybody about anything. If I want to complain about something, I do it when I get back home. When I'm in Ireland, I keep my mouth shut. I've always had a great time on my visits because I accept that other countries have different ways of doing things. I was 18 when I made my first trip to Ireland and I had more sense than this guy does at 26 in how to conduct myself in a foreign country. Maybe that's why I have nothing negative to say about Ireland or about my 6 trips to Ireland and I don't generalize about or stereotype the Irish. They're individuals with different personalities and opinions, just like Americans. Btw: In the U.S., I don't make threats and I don't get into trouble with anyone.

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jamieLM | Jan 31, 2012, 10:59 AM EST

TyroneLad - surnames are a clue to nationality. Idiot. If I said my surname was "Murphy", would you guess that I was of Norwegian or Polish ancestry? Or would you think I might be of Irish descent? I didn't say he wasn't Irish. I said "Van Bryan isn't exactly an Irish name." If "Van Bryan" is a common Irish surname, I'd like to know how many families have it. I have a "Van Zant" in my family tree. They came from Holland, not Ireland.

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Madeliene | Jan 31, 2012, 10:16 AM EST

patto69 LOLOL I agree ! come ON digging up Marilyn Monroe what the helll is going on in our country we definately cannot EVER say ANYTHING that might might I say offend a Bllack skinned person/ a chinese person/ a jewish perdson/ Lord forbiod a Polish person/ ( The Irish are alway's fair game-) an Itallian person/ give your school team an American Indian Name/wear "only black people rarrings/havwe any political views that are not liberal/God fobid make a jjoke about ANYthing/etc etc etc Can we just all grow up here -Our freedoms are being taken away by fear of offending one by one-by churches, groups/ advocates for the disabled/ ( in ANY WAY)-races/nationalities/overweight people/ underweight people/ etc etc etc BS !

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joycean | Jan 31, 2012, 08:48 AM EST

Unfortunately, sometimes when people email others that the are going to destroy the United States, they DO mean it. A number of terrorists have flown into the country on passenger planes. I fly occasionally. Security sceenings are annoying, but we know what we are going to have to go through before we get on a plane. We are also aware that the TSA haas No-Fly lists. They require all airlines flying into this country to send lists of all passengers to TSA. Sometimes the names are not fully processed until after the plane is in the air. I remember a plane carrying Cat Stevens from London was turned around in mid-air, which inconvenienced all passengers. This time, the other passengers were allowed to go on their ways.

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