[alnick]

Did he say he was joking, or did the news report it was a joke? All of the sudden the authorities decided to back off these three in a big way. I think that is indicative of something.

The media reported that the men claimed to be joking.

There's nothing all of a sudden about releasing the men after holding them for 19 hours. They talked about releasing them for a couple of hours at least before actually releasing them. The authorities announced that this is not the end of this when they released them. They are still investigating, and considering charges against them for their little joke.

[CharacterCounts]

The media reported that the men claimed to be joking.

Yes. But the media was reporting hearsay. The media never talked to these three when they were reporting that. That line came from some third source.