British Pair Arrested and Detained in the US over Twitter Jokes

Two British citizens have been arrested in America and detained in holding cells for over 12 hours.

Leigh Van Bryan (26) and Emily Bunting (24) were planning a nice holiday to Los Angeles, but after his tweets were found by the Department of Homeland Security, they were swiftly arrested in Los Angeles airport by armed guards.

The following tweets were Leigh's:

"Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America?”

“3 weeks today, we’re totally in LA  p****** people off on Hollywood Blvd and diggin’ Marilyn Monroe up!”

When questioned about his first tweet, Leigh tried to explain that he only meant it in reference to a party, and was just British slang. 

The two friends weren't let off the hook there, and were further questioned about the second tweet, which made suggestions towards the grave of Marilyn Monroe. Federal agents searched his suitcase for any sign of digging equipment, such as shovels and spades, claiming that Emily was going to act as Leigh's look-out. 

Leigh stated that the tweet was only a quote from America's Family Guy comedy T.V series, and wasn't meant seriously. 

They were questioned some more, before being locked in separate cells for 12 hours, and then put on a plane home via Paris.

Emily said: "The officials told us we were not allowed in to the country because of Leigh's tweet. They wanted to know what we were going to do.

'They asked why we wanted to destroy America and we tried to explain it meant to get trashed and party.

'I almost burst out laughing when they asked me if I was going to be Leigh's lookout while he dug up Marilyn Monroe.

'I couldn't believe it because it was a quote from the comedy Family Guy which is an American show."

Leigh said: "It's just so ridiculous it's almost funny but at the time it was really scary. The Homeland Security agents were treating me like some kind of terrorist."

"When I was in the van I was handcuffed and put in a cage. I had a panic attack but the worse was yet to come."

"When we arrived at the prison I was shoved in a cell on my own but after an hour two huge Mexican men covered in tattoos came in and started asking me who I was."

"They told me they'd been arrested for taking cocaine over the border."

"When the food arrived on the tray they took it all and just left me with a carton of apple juice."

Leigh's tweets were posted on 16 January 2012.