US arrests British couple on terror charges for Twitter jokes

LOS ANGELES - Daily Mail

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United States authorities prevented a British couple from entering the U.S. on account of their jokes about the country on the microblogging website Twitter, Daily Mail reported.

Leigh Van Bryan and Emily Bunting were on their way to Hollywood when they were arrested after deplaning in Los Angeles.

Bryan had previously tweeted about his trip to LA, saying, "Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America?"

Bryan was held on suspicion and questioned about his tweets, including one other in which he had quoted a popular American TV show, saying that he was planning to “dig Marilyn Monroe up.”

“I almost burst out laughing when they asked me if I was going to be Leigh's lookout while he dug up Marilyn Monroe," Daily Mail quoted Bunting as saying.

Authorities searched the couple's belongings, and they were held separately for about 12 hours.

“It got even more ridiculous because the officials searched our suitcases and said they were looking for spades and shovels. They did a full body search on me, too," Bryan said.

The couple was not allowed to enter the country and was sent home, Daily Mail reported.