Banned from US for life

[Dave Greer]

A 17 year old English kid has been banned from visiting America FOR LIFE for sending an abusive email to the president. Apparently, the FBI intercepted the email, contacted British police, who came round to his house, photographed him, and told him he was baned from visiting the US for life.

"A British teenager has been banned from America for life for sending Barack Obama an abusive email, in which he calls the President a p***k.

Luke Angel, 17, insulted Mr Obama while drunk after watching a programme about the 9/11 attacks on the U.S.

Angel was reprimanded by police on both sides of the Atlantic after firing off the message to the White House.

The FBI intercepted the message and contacted police in the UK who went to see Mr Angel at his home in Silsoe, Bedfordshire.

The college student is now on a list of people who are banned from visiting the States.

The teenager told the Bedfordshire On Sunday newspaper that he had sent the email after watching a TV programme about September 11.

When asked about the ban, Luke said: 'I don't really care. My parents aren't very happy about it.

The police who came round took my picture and told me I was banned from America forever.'

A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said: 'The individual sent an email to the White House full of abusive and threatening language.

'We were informed by the Metropolitan Police and went to see him. He said, "Oh dear, it was me".'

Officers will take no criminal action."

Source

OK, the guy was an idiot, and he was drunk. Which I agree is no excuse. At 17 years old, legally he is still a child. Does he really deserve to be banned from the "Land of the Free" for his entire life for showing bad taste and poor judgement while under the fluence?

More importantly, under what jurisdiction can the UK Police photograph him and send his details to the FBI? If he'd been 18, would the FBI have applied for him to be extradited to the US to face trial for making threats against the president?

I hereby confess to replacing the US flag with a pair of Union Jack boxer shorts on the morning of July 4th, 1988, at the summer camp I attended in Pennysylvania. Am I going to be banned from the US for such a flagrant violation of US flag regulations? Or worse still, extradited for such an ostentatious display of pro-colonialism? I'll keep you informed. Unless you read about it first. I'll start packing for Guantanemo now.

[Christopher Hall]

The lesson of this international incident is that one shouldn't drink and e-mail.