On 7 February 2017 the Facebook page “Awesome Sh*t My Drill Sergeant Said” shared an image macro holding that Vermont State Trooper Arcot Ramathorn, “a highly decorated officer” who is also an Iraqi Muslim, would be denied entry into the U.S. under temporary travel restrictions sought by President Trump:

In fact, this image does not show not any real Vermont state trooper; rather, it was taken from the 2001 comedy film Super Troopers, in which “Five Vermont state troopers, avid pranksters with a knack for screwing up, try to save their jobs and out-do the local police department by solving a crime.”

Depicted in the photograph is actor Jay Chandrasekhar, who portrayed Arcot Ramathorn (or “Thorny”) in the movie. Arcot Ramathorn himself is a fictional character and as such is not affected by any new or existing U.S. entry restrictions.

Confusion caused by this image was not dissimilar to a “Christmas warning” involving burglars Harry and Marv from the Home Alone series of films, or a claim asserting that President Trump had placed a portrait of “Vigo the Carpathian” in the Oval Office.