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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Josh Brecheen issued the following statement after the sentencing of Oklahoma’s Ryan Watson—one of five Americans who was recently detained by the Turks and Caicos government for inadvertently having ammunition in their luggage. 

“I am glad to see that Ryan Watson will finally be allowed to return home to his family, but this whole fiasco should have never happened in the first place,” said Congressman Josh Brecheen. “The threat of a twelve-year prison sentence for accidentally leaving a few bullets in your bag is not justice. Thankfully, Turks and Caicos has now repealed this draconian law. No American should ever again have to go through what Ryan Watson and the four other detainees had to go through for making a simple mistake.”

Back in May, Congressman Brecheen attended a bipartisan, bicameral congressional delegation (CODEL) to Turks and Caicos (TCI) where the members met with TCI government officials to discuss the five Americans being detained on the islands.

Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) led the CODEL and also in attendance was Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Michael Cloud (R-TX), and Bob Good (R-VA). 

You can learn more about the CODEL here.