LOS ANGELES // An Egyptian flight student is expected to appear in immigration court Friday to determine whether he should be deported after being investigated by federal agents for posting threatening comments on his Facebook page about Donald Trump.
Emadeldin Elsayed, a 23-year-old aspiring pilot from Cairo, has a hearing scheduled before Kevin Riley, an immigration judge, in Los Angeles.
US secret service agents interviewed Mr Elsayed about his post in early February, then returned to his Los Angeles-area flight school eight days later and told him federal prosecutors were not charging him with a crime but his visa had been revoked.
Immigration authorities then arrested Mr Elsayed. He has been detained since February 12 at an Orange County jail.
Mr Elsayed wrote that he was willing to serve a life sentence for killing Mr Trump and the world would thank him, said his lawyer, Hani Bushra.
The student said he was angered by the Republican presidential contender’s comments about banning Muslims from travelling to the US, but never intended to harm anyone.
Mr Trump has used especially tough talk on immigration during his campaign. The Republican presidential contender has vowed to build a wall along the entire Mexican border and called for a temporary ban on Muslims from entering the country.
Immigration and customs enforcement said in a statement that Mr Elsayed was arrested because he violated “the terms of his admission to the United States”. The agency did not provide further details.
Immigration authorities alleged in court filings that Universal Air Academy had tipped off federal officials to the Facebook post, Mr Bushra said.
Alex Khatib, the flight school’s owner, said he knew nothing of the case until federal agents showed up to interview and later detain Mr Elsayed.
He said federal officials asked him to pull paperwork he had issued so Elsayed could study there, but that he would take him back if the government allowed.
* Associated Press