Less than a day after the Daily Mail reported that US immigration officers harassed and refused entry to a Norwegian tourist, the US Customs and Border Protection officials have “fact-checked” the claim on social media. Mads Mikkelsen (not the actor) had previously claimed that he was detained at New Jersey’s Newark airport over a meme of the US vice president found on his phone. 

Several other media outlets also amplified the report, tying Mikkelsen being barred from entering the US to a meme featuring JD Vance with a bald head. Early on Wednesday morning (IST), the CBP sounded an alarm against the news spreading like wildfire across the world. Slamming the reason reported so far, authorities laid out a whole different cause fuelling their resistance to the man coming into the country.

US Customs and Border Protection officials respond

“Fact Check: FALSE,” the CBP shared via X, as they also attached a screenshot of the Daily Mail report titled, “Norwegian tourist, 21, is barred from entering the US after ICE guards find meme showing JD Vance with a bald head on his phone.”

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Officials further added, “Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons, it was for his admitted drug use.”

Why was the Norwegian tourist detained at the airport?

It was previously reported that the Norwegian man had plans to visit his friends in America. However, he was reportedly detained at New Jersey’s Newark airport over a meme of the US vice president found on his phone. Mikkelsen is said to have been held up in a cell for five hours after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents allegedly discovered the picture in question and another one of a wooden pipe on his personal device. Upon being denied entry into the country, he was sent back to Norway.

Following the June 11 incident, the Norwegian tourist spoke to the Daily Dot. Sharing his side of the story, he said that a customs agent initially asked about a sausage in his luggage. As the officials promised to “fix the issue quickly.” Upon being brought into the interrogation room, he was questioned for an hour. Per Mikkelsen’s account, authorities threatened him to hand over his phone and unlock it for a search or face legal consequences.

What was found on Mads Mikkelsen’s phone?

Describing the whole incident as “violating,” the tourist recalled that he had a babyface JD Vance meme in his camera roll along with a wooden pipe. In addition to facing their wrath over the meme, Mikkelsen was also accused of harbouring “narcotics paraphernalia.” As far as his narrative goes, the tobacco pipe in the other photo was made for a friend in trade school five years ago.

However, the phone discovery was enough for them to turn it all into a nightmare. The experience entailed officers ransacking Mikkelsen’s luggage, patting him down, acquiring his fingerprint, scanning his face and even collecting blood samples.

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Alleged harassment followed by falsified records

“The event as a whole was what I can only describe as extremely violating and traumatic,” the tourist said. “I felt sick for multiple days after I got home. Felt weak like if I’d had food poisoning, just without the puking.”

In turn, the Norwegian man has accused authorities of falsifying records. They reportedly listed his reason to leave his home country as “See family,” even though he intended to enter the US to meet his friends. It also remains unclear why authorities called Mikkelsen’s passport from Norway “Spanish.” However, the man having been targeted revealed that he had never actually been to Spain.