Egypt Bans Ray LaHood's Son From Leaving

Egypt has placed Ray LaHood's son and several other Americans working for pro-Democracy groups on a no-fly list, barring them from leaving the country. Sam LaHood tried to board a plane out of Egypt in Cairo on Saturday, Politico reports, but was prevented from doing so. A State Department official says they're "working with the government of Egypt to … allow these Americans to come home as quickly as possible."

The move comes in the wake of Egypt's raids on US nongovernmental organizations, including the GOP-affiliated election monitoring group LaHood works for, the International Republican Institute. The IRI's sister organization—the National Democratic Institute—says it's had six employees detained as well, according to the New York Times. Egypt isn't just fighting these NGOs at home either—it's hired high-powered Washington lobbyists Tony Podesta, Bob Livingston, and Toby Moffett to try to shift blame onto the NGOs. (More Ray LaHood stories.)