Egyptian Flight Student's 'Foolish Mistake' Posting Trump Threat Could Get Him Deported
EL MONTE (CBSLA.com) — An Egyptian flight student faces deportation after posting a threat on Facebook against presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Emad Elsayed, 23, will face an immigration judge Friday for allegedly violating the terms of his admission to the United States.
The former El Monte flight school student, who was in the U.S. on a student visa, had posted a photo of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, with a comment that he wouldn't mind serving a life sentence for killing him. It was a "foolish mistake," his attorney Hani Bushra said.
"It came out of being upset from the rhetoric of Mr. Trump regarding excluding Muslims and other people from this country," Bushra said.
The owner of Universal Air Academy, where Elsayed was a student, forwarded the post on to the Secret Service. Elsayed was question and his apartment searched, but no criminal charges were filed.
Elsayed was instead taken into custody on Feb. 12 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The former flight student's visa has been canceled, but Bushra says his client hopes to be reinstated at the school. Elsayed has so far spent $40,000 to attend flight school, which he stands to lose if he is deported.