Last week, the U.K.'s "most effective environmentalist," John-with-an-H Stewart, had his entry visa revoked mid-flight when he tried to visit the U.S. for a speaking tour. All we knew for sure was that customs officials had grilled him for six hours about his plans for his visit, then sent him back to Britain with nary a pat on the rump. But Kate Sheppard at Mother Jones has uncovered the real reason Stewart was barred from the country: Super-glue.
Stewart was scheduled to do this speaking tour with British activist Dan Glass, who was also denied a visa to enter the U.S. (but at least didn't make it all the way here before being turned away). Glass is an anti-aviation-industry activist gadfly who once tried to glue himself to then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown. And the FBI et al. were apparently worried he'd do it again, and that Stewart would help.
Officials' questions to Stewart included "Are you aware that your cospeaker, Mr. Glass, is infamous for his blatant acts of civil disobedience, and outwardly advocates for such actions?" and "Are you aware of any civil disobedient demonstrations that will be taking place in the United States?"
Super-glue wasn't explicitly mentioned, but Glass describes his own interrogation, which was significantly more surreal and adhesive-based:
According to Glass, the officer posed a number of questions: Did he plan to super-glue himself to President Obama? What would Glass do if he met the president? After the officer wrapped up his questions, Glass proceeded to his actual visa interview with consular officials. There, too, he was asked super-glue-related questions: What about Sarah Palin? Would he super-glue himself to her?
"I'm not some kind of super-glue addict," Glass says.
