British pair arrested in U.S. on terror charges over Twitter jokes

[Gaap]

Time for more "US Fails"!

Two British tourists were barred from entering America after joking on Twitter that they were going to 'destroy America' and 'dig up Marilyn Monroe'.

Leigh Van Bryan, 26, was handcuffed and kept under armed guard in a cell with Mexican drug dealers 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?'

Full article

Credit to "bbmbbf" for sharing this. This was so laughable that my country was taking something so small like a UK Tweet joke seriously! I know they are overprotective after the 9/11 incident, but this is just going way to far... (Even the "Family Guy" show was referenced!)

[Rhinehart]

I just finished reading the whole article and most of the comments. That was so stupid, but not the least bit surprising.

[LauraMix]

Just smh man...

[Veloze]

I literally sighed.

[Tardar]

TSA-- 'nuff said.

[cornpirde35]

They pretty much went over board with this over a simple joke.

[Lime]

My tax dollars well spent people.

[Mitchi]

Don't forget, guys. TSA people are just that: people. They have a stressful job and one false move could endanger a lot of people. They are TRAINED to be overly cautious. They make mistakes too, but they would rather make mistakes that embarrass them than mistakes that would get people killed.

[Tardar]

Originally Posted by Mitchi

Don't forget, guys. TSA people are just that: people. They have a stressful job and one false move could endanger a lot of people. They are TRAINED to be overly cautious. They make mistakes too, but they would rather make mistakes that embarrass them than mistakes that would get people killed.

Mitchi captures my thought process flawlessly. Yes, TSA is a joke. However, I think we all in a way take for granted an overly cautious (and humorous) security body.

[Torikakae]

Originally Posted by Mitchi

Don't forget, guys. TSA people are just that: people. They have a stressful job and one false move could endanger a lot of people. They are TRAINED to be overly cautious. They make mistakes too, but they would rather make mistakes that embarrass them than mistakes that would get people killed.

Though on the flip-side, how much personal freedom are we willing to give up for "security"?

[Tardar]

Originally Posted by Torikakae

Though on the flip-side, how much personal freedom are we willing to give up for "security"?

Give up no freedom -> shitty security -> get attacked -> "wy u no protect us?!"
Give up loads of freedom -> good security -> don't get attacked -> "wy we no free?!"

It's a lose-lose scenario. People will find ways to complain about it anyways. And yeah, I cut out a lot of other potential scenarios. :|

[Kenzor]

Being cautious = country safety.
Letting things slip by = 9/11

Who jokes about digging up corpses anyway?

[Metty]

Originally Posted by Kenzor

Who jokes about digging up corpses anyway?

Quite a few people.

How many people are retarded enough to take it seriously?

[Tardar]

Originally Posted by Metty

Quite a few people.

How many people are retarded enough to take it seriously?

Even if TSA is stupid, you just let them do their thing. Giving them a hassle only equates to an even bigger hassle for you.

[WhatThePho]

TSA makes a terrible precedent.