France Accuses Trump of Booting Space Researcher Over ‘Personal Opinion’
Houston, the French have a problem. A space researcher flying into Houston for a conference was kicked out of the United States after border officers searched his phone and found him expressing an unfavorable “personal opinion on the Trump administration’s research policy,” French Minister of Higher Education and Research Philippe Baptiste told Agence France-Presse on Wednesday.
It’s not clear exactly what the offending content was. One “diplomatic source” told Agence France-Presse that the unnamed scientist, who works for France’s National Center for Scientific Research, was accused of messages “that reflect hatred towards [President Donald] Trump and can be described as terrorism.” Another source, who placed the incident on March 9, said the scientist was threatened with an FBI investigation for “hateful and conspiratorial messages.”
Asked about the report, the FBI’s Houston office referred Reason to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which declined to discuss “specific cases” due to privacy rules but gave a general statement on policy.
“If an individual has material discovered on their electronic media that raises flags during an inspection, it can result in further analysis,” CBP spokeswoman Hilton Beckham said. “Claims that such decisions are politically
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