Kevin Larson is trying to warn Canadians.He also wants Americans (and their elected officials) to know what’s happening. Larson, 68, is a nuclear station health physicist who retired after 35 years with federal security clearance at a power plant in Ontario, Canada, where he taught radiation safety to control room staff and reviewed work plans and procedures. At one point, Larson took training on radiation emergencies at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In mid-October, he drove two hours from his home to the Blue Water Bridge with hopes of crossing the St. Clair River into Port Huron, Michigan.Like so many Canadians, he had crossed the bridge many times. But this day would be different. He was detained, fingerprinted and required to take a DNA test, which involved rubbing a swab inside his mouth to collect cheek cells. “The Q-Tip-like thing went straight into an envelope to go to FBI,” Larson told me.If he had declined, he faced the possibility of a charge that could result in jail time. He just wanted to turn around and go home to Kincardine.Kevin Larson at Little Sauble River in Inverhuron Provincial Park, which is just minutes from his home near Kincardine, Ontario, Canada, on March 1, 2026. “It was excessive, unnecessary and disturbing,” Larson said. “There’s a compelling case out there that your country has taken a turn towards authoritarian.” On Oct. 18, when asked by a U.S. border guard at the vehicle screening booth the purpose of the visit — a routine question — Larson said he planned to attend a “No Kings” rally.The guard asked if Larson had signs, and he answered no. Larson had a Canadian flag in his gray 2012 Ford Focus. The guard smiled and said Larson had been flagged for a random check” at the CBP Building, Larson said in a letter to Pete Hoekstra, U.S. ambassador to Canada Events described below are excerpted from that letter.Larson mentioned names of officers who talked with him, noting that he was asked to sign a form saying he wouldn’t help terrorists. Larson thought, OK, “no big deal.” After three hours, Larson was denied entry allegedly based on the nature of his planned activity to protest the policies of President Donald Trump.But Larson’s problems didn’t end there. Canadian flag on a pole in the backseat of the Ford Focus owned by Kevin Larson on Oct. 18, 2025 before he was denied access to the U.S. (Photo: Kevin Larson)“You have to provide a DNA sample, sir,” the agent told Larson, according to the letter. “I said I have never done that and that I wouldn’t do that. He said that I could be charged. I said that for privacy reasons that I have never done and that I wouldn’t do a DNA test. He again said I could be charged.”So Larson waited. A supervisor emerged. The two men had “a very good conversation,” Larson wrote to Hoekstra. “He explained the process, that the FBI gets the sample. He got very serious. He read from a document and quoted a section number that said that failure to provide a DNA sample can result in a (criminal, I think) charge with a sentence of up to 1 year in jail. Facing that and the likely refusal to enter the USA in the future (my thoughts), I agreed to do the DNA sample.”Larson told the supervisor that going to a rally is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — which includes freedom of speech and assembly — and the supervisor replied, “No, sir. The constitution only applies to U.S. citizens … I know the law.”Note: The U.S. Constitution refers to “the people” and does not specifically mention citizens. While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that constitutional protections extend beyond U.S. citizens in many cases, challenges to legal interpretation are ongoing and lack clarity. A legal analyst based in Michigan told Shifting Gears on Friday that the U.S. is not required to allow visitors to cross the border; crossing the border into any country is a privilege. U.S. border agents have more flexibility in terms of search and seizure.Larson was also asked by border officers why he didn’t carry a cell phone. He replied that he had heard horror stories from Canadians crossing the border who felt hassled, so he carried an old phone with no SIM card, just to take pictures. U.S. border agents examined his images, which included photos from visits to the gravesite of Harold “Short” Bailey,” a great-uncle and U.S. World War II veteran buried at the Chattanooga National Cemetery in Tennessee.A photo on the phone of Kevin Larson when inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on Oct. 18, 2025. (Photo: Kevin Larson)After obtaining the DNA sample, border patrol escorted Larson to his car and directed him into the flow of traffic back to Canada. “You want to know why Canadians are angry? … all I wanted to do was participate in a peaceful assembly … I was denied entry. And not only that, I was forced under the threat of criminal prosecution to submit a DNA sample to return to Canada,” Larson wrote Hoekstra, who has been critical of Canadians. “If other Canadians are experiencing what I just went through, I am sure you can see why there is a rising anti-American sentiment about which you are so ‘disappointed.’”Shifting Gears reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and submitted these questions about the Blue Water Bridge incident: “Is it common to require a DNA sample of people crossing the border? How frequently does this occur? Is there an uptick? Under what circumstances is this done?” An agency spokesman based in Detroit responded on Friday by providing Shifting Gears links to protocols related to DNA collection and “Biometrics and Directives.” Border officials are authorized to collect DNA from “individuals who are arrested, facing criminal charges or convicted, and from non-United States persons who are detained under the authority of the United States.”However, the same document says, “CBP is NOT collecting DNA from persons encountered under the following circumstances: Aliens lawfully in, or being processed for lawful admission into the United States; Aliens held at a Port of Entry during consideration of admissibility and not subject to further detention or proceedings.”A guidance memo, written by Texas border officials for the Rio Grande Valley Sector in August 2020 and redistributed nationally in February 2026, says, “An individual’s failure to cooperate in such collection is a violation of federal law … Should an individual refuse to cooperate with the collection, CBP may refer the individual for prosecution.” A Homeland Security memo dated February 2025 reiterated the earlier guidance and exemptions. It appears that some protocols are subject to interpretation. DNA is turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which enters it into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) used by all law enforcement agencies.While Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said he hadn’t heard of DNA testing at the Blue Water Bridge, he told me on Thursday, “Given the current climate, it isn’t a surprise.”He said last month that it’s no surprise Canadian passenger traffic on the bridge had dropped significantly — words and actions toward Canadians have shifted dramatically. “You can’t keep disrespecting us on a regular basis without people just changing their views on America.”Canadian travel to the U.S. has plummeted over the past year, creating an economic impact that has been well-documented. In 2025, tourism grew worldwide while the U.S. was the only major destination that had a decline in international visitors, The New York Times reported.Kevin Larson on the Blue Water Bridge on Oct. 18, 2025. (Photo: Kevin Larson)Disheartened by the bridge experience, Larson also sent letters to U.S. Senators Elissa Slotkin and Gary Peters of Michigan, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ben Lobb, a Member of Parliament for Huron-Bruce, Ontario. “I hope to be able to press the FBI to destroy my DNA information. Any suggestions would be appreciated,” Larson said in his letter to Lobb. “I did look up the travel advisory to the U.S. I think it needs to be beefed up and Canadians need to be told that they can arbitrarily be asked to provide a DNA sample or face a charge with a maximum prison sentence of one year.”A spokesperson for Whitmer told me that the issue is a federal matter outside her jurisdiction. Lobb’s team told their constituent the same thing. A caseworker for Slotkin acknowledged Larson’s letter of concern and said, “I am sorry to hear that you had such a poor experience. I suggest filing a complaint directly with Customs & Border Protection (CBP) regarding the treatment you experienced.” The caseworker provided a link to the CBP.Currently, the Canadian advisory for U.S. travel says security precautions are “normal.” The government website says, “Individual border agents often have significant discretion in making those determinations. U.S. authorities strictly enforce entry requirements. Expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices. Comply and be forthcoming in all interactions with border authorities. If you are denied entry, you could be detained while awaiting deportation.”Meanwhile, Larson shared his concerns in letter to the Kincardine Independent, a newspaper in his hometown, known for its Scottish pipe band parade every Saturday during the summer that attracts visitors from around the world.This month, Larson is one of the organizers of a “No Tyrants” rally at Owens Sound City Hall in Owen Sound, Ontario, on Saturday, March 28, one of thousands planned for that day in North America.“Action is the antidote for anxiety,” says the event flyer released this week. “We stand in solidarity with No Kings rally participants in the U.S. and across the world. Americans control their own destiny, but we can show we care. We can raise alarm bells on any King-like (autocratic) attacks on Canada and Canadians. We stand firm that Canada will never be a 51st state.”Every Saturday night in Kincardine, Ontario, Canada, a Scottish pipe band leads a march through town — as hundreds of people join in the walk while the sun sets on Lake Huron on July 6, 2025. (Photos: Phoebe Wall Howard)Friends of Larson warned him the U.S. border patrol would react badly to Canadians attending a “No Kings” rally in Michigan and said he was stupid to have tried. “Family was worried that a simple trip across the border to walk around in a peaceful rally was too great a risk to take,” Larson said. “Relatives of mine (in WW2) risked all to do what they did. Some did die in that horrific war … I didn’t want to look at myself in the mirror and feel like a coward.”Larson, whose parents grew up in Saskatchewan during the Great Depression, said, “Those of us who can speak out, need to speak out.” While his professional life always required background and police security checks, so does his current life as a mentor in the Big Brothers program.“When I say that I’m not a criminal and that I’m not a threat, I think the records and fingerprint check would support that statement,” Larson said, having provided emails, documents and letters to Shifting Gears for review.Many Canadians can’t process what they’re seeing in America.“People are scared about what is happening,” Larson told me. “My wife’s mother … was a young child in Germany during the war. She is also watching what is happening in U.S,” he said. “My mother-in-law is saying things like, ‘This is how it started in Germany.’” Memory of a family visit to the Dachau concentration camp, and seeing the cell that held Lutheran Pastor Martin Niemöller, had a powerful impact, Larson said. He cited the now-famous words by Niemöller, an anti-Nazi German who died in 1984 in Germany:“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Socialist.Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Trade Unionist.Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Jew.Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”These days, the tense relationship between Canada and America seems unimaginable.“I feel betrayed by a dear friend,” said Larson, who has relatives living in Georgia and California. “Our extended family has cared about each other and our respective families for generations.”Kevin Larson flew the American flag on Sept. 11, 2025 at his home just north of Kincardine, Ontario, Canada, in memory of those who died. (Photo: Kevin Larson) Editor’s note: Story has been updated to reflect that Kevin Larson drives a 2012 Ford Focus.More: Canadian’s DNA border incident triggers action from U.S. Rep. DingellFrustrated deputy mayor in Canada explains $4.5B tourism hit to U.S.Canadian sailors redesign race courses to avoid U.S. waters (again)What I discovered at the Canadian EmbassyCity Manager: ‘Sorry we suck. Please shop American.’My neighbors fly a Canadian flagI’m honored to be part of The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative — which offers a fresh mix of political analysis, features and news from a Heartland perspective.No posts