Authorities respond after tourist says he was detained when JD Vance meme was found on his phone

A Norwegian visitor to the United States claims to have been detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for having a 'JD Vance meme' in his camera roll.

Mads Mikkelsen spoke to his country's local news outlet Nordlys earlier this week, claiming he'd landed at Newark Airport in New Jersey on 11 June with plans to visit the country for several weeks.

Unfortunately for the 21-year-old, upon arrival into America, he was disallowed from leaving the airport, and transported to a cell.

According to the tourist, prison authorities subsequently apprehended Mikkelsen's phone before allegedly finding two questionable images in his camera roll - one of which was a meme poking fun at the US Vice President.

The political image in question reportedly showed Donald Trump's right-hand man, 40-year-old Vance, sporting a bald, egg-shaped head.

The other picture showed a wooden pipe that the craftsman had created some time ago.

Mikkelsen claims their double discovery gave the CBP the authority to refuse him entry into the States.

He told Nordlys: "They threatened me with a minimum fine of $5,000 or five years in prison if I refused to provide the password to my phone."

The border force agency has since denied that this was the reason the Norwegian was denied entry to America, insisting such reports are inaccurate.

A spokesperson for the CBP wrote a message on X (formerly Twitter) in response to a Daily Mail headline, which read 'Norwegian tourist, 21, is barred from entering the US after ICE guards find meme showing JD Vance with a bald head on his phone'.

"Fact Check: FALSE," the statement began.

Instead, the force alleged that his visitation plans had been stopped due to substance abuse.

"Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons, it was for his admitted drug use," their statement continued.

According to Mikkelsen, however, this couldn't be further from the truth.

Fact Check: FALSE

Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons, it was for his admitted drug use. pic.twitter.com/is9eGqILUq

— CBP (@CBP) June 24, 2025

"They asked questions about drug trafficking, terrorist plots and right-wing extremism totally without reason," he told his local publication.

"They took me to a room with several armed guards, where I had to hand over my shoes, mobile phone and backpack."

The tourist claims the CBP demanded to know his travel plans in their entirety, as well as everyone he'd planned to meet up with whilst visiting America. Mikkelsen went on to describe his experience as an 'abuse, of power and harassment'.

The same day as his arrest, he was immediately flown back to Norway.