French scientist denied U.S. entry after ‘hateful’ Trump texts found on phone – National

A French scientist was denied entry into the United States earlier this month after immigration officials found text messages on his phone criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump, which they reportedly said “could be considered to be terrorism.”

The space researcher, who has not been named, was pulled aside during a random check and had his work computer and personal phone searched by officials, according to French newspaper Le Monde.

According to a diplomatic source speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the incident took place on March 9, and the messages found on his phone were discussing the Trump administration’s treatment of scientists.

“He was reportedly accused of messages ‘that reflect hatred toward Trump,’” the outlet said, adding, “His professional and personal equipment was reportedly confiscated, and the researcher was sent back to Europe the next day.”

Authorities allegedly accused the researcher of “hateful and conspiratorial messages,” and “was reportedly informed of an FBI investigation, for which ‘charges were dropped,’” before being expelled from the U.S.

Philippe Baptiste, France’s minister of higher education and research, said he was informed that a researcher, who was travelling to a conference near Houston, Texas, on assignment for the French National Center for Scientific Research, was “denied entry to the United States before being expelled.”

“This measure was apparently taken by the American authorities because the researcher’s phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration’s research policy,” Baptiste said in a statement Monday to AFP.

“Freedom of opinion, free research, and academic freedom are values ​​that we will continue to proudly uphold. I will defend the right of all French researchers to be faithful to them, while respecting the law,” Baptiste added.

Baptiste has previously openly criticized the Trump administration for making cuts to scientific research budgets. He published a letter suggesting that American researchers should relocate to France on the same day the researcher was denied entry into the U.S.

“Many well-known researchers are already questioning their future in the United States,” Baptiste wrote on March 9. “We would naturally wish to welcome a certain number of them.”

Baptiste asked research leaders to send him “concrete proposals on the topic, both on priority technologies and scientific fields.”

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Baptiste also criticized Elon Musk on March 12 during an interview, which he posted on X.

“I heard Elon Musk say that the International Space Station should be shut down in 2027. Who are we talking about? The boss of Space X? The head of the American public administration? None of this makes any sense,” he wrote.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) planned to eliminate its scientific research office, which could see more than 1,000 scientists and other employees lose their jobs. The scientists help provide the scientific foundation for rules safeguarding human health and ecosystems from environmental pollutants.

As many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists — 75 per cent of the research program’s staff — could be laid off, according to documents reviewed by Democratic staff on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

The planned layoffs, cast by the Trump administration as part of a broader push to shrink the size of the federal government and make it more efficient, were assailed by critics as a massive dismantling of the EPA’s longstanding mission to protect public health and the environment.

— With files from The Associated Press

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