The arrest of U.K. citizen Finley Bowd in Ireland while traveling to a U.S. comic convention – evidently last weekend’s Anime NYC – highlights a major risk noted in our pre-SDCC visas and comic-cons series: the search of phones and other devices by U.S. border patrol agents.
Because this is an ongoing case, I won’t delve into the details of the pertinent law, except to note that as problematic as U.S. law and prosecutions can be, there are key safeguards here that do not exist elsewhere.
Bowd reportedly has been granted legal aid to help with the costs of the case, and he is currently free on bail, with the next court date set for November 6.