Cairo ( CNN ) -- One of three American college students arrested in Cairo passed out from fear when Egyptian authorities accused them of taking part in violence , he told CNN Sunday . `` There were cops and people with guns standing before us , '' Derrik Sweeney said , describing `` the scariest moment of my life . I did n't know if I was going to survive , and I actually fainted -- the only time I recall fainting in my life . '' Sweeney , Gregory Porter and Luke Gates were back in the United States Sunday , a few days after an Egyptian court ordered their release . Egyptian authorities had accused them of throwing Molotov cocktails in the clashes that have rattled Egypt in recent days . `` That was entirely fabricated , '' Sweeney told CNN , adding that he and the others did not do anything `` to harm anyone or anything . '' Porter was the first of the students to come home , returning to Pennsylvania on Saturday . `` I just want to say that I 'm so thankful to be back in Philadelphia , '' Porter told reporters . `` I 'd like to thank my parents , my mom and my dad , for their support . '' He also thanked his lawyers , embassy officials and the administration at the American University in Cairo for their roles in helping to secure his release . Sweeney , 19 , of Jefferson City , Missouri , arrived at a St. Louis airport late Saturday night and was greeted by about two dozen relatives and friends . All three students were attending American University in Cairo on a semester-long , study-abroad program . They have said they did not do anything wrong , according to their parents . Sweeney is a student at Georgetown University ; Porter , 19 , is from Glenside , Pennsylvania , and attends Drexel University in Philadelphia ; and Gates , 21 , of Bloomington , Indiana , attends Indiana University . Speaking to CNN on Sunday , Sweeney said he was `` hoping to see politics in action '' when he went close to the protests , but insisted , `` we were in the sidestreets '' and not in the thick of the demonstrations . `` We were right near a large crowd , apparently near the interior minister , '' he said , when the police `` shot something into the crowd and we all sprinted away . As we were trying to regather ourselves , we found -- the three of us Americans -- found each other . And then someone came in plain clothes saying that they would take us to a safe place and help us out . The next thing we knew we were getting hit ... The first night we got hit in the face in the back of the neck a number of times . '' While he does not know who the plain-clothed people were , `` I believe police , '' Sweeney said . `` They were certainly working with the police . They were able to walk around the police where the protestors were n't . '' Looking back , he said , `` I have no regret that I went to the protests , '' but , `` I went too close to violent scenes . '' `` Walking onto Mohamed Mahmoud street where there was violence was a bad idea , '' he said . Adel Saeed , the general prosecutor 's spokesman , said Wednesday that a bag filled with empty bottles , a bottle of gasoline , a towel and a camera had been found with the three American students . `` They denied the bag belonged to them and said it belonged to two of their friends , '' Saeed said . Joy Sweeney , Derrik 's mother , said her family would celebrate Thanksgiving belatedly on Sunday . Just three hours before the incident in Egypt , she said , she had talked to her son on the phone `` and he said , 'Do n't worry mom , we 're safe . It 's far away from where we are . ' '' While she knew her son was in Egypt `` to experience the culture , '' she said , `` I did n't want him to be that close to the violence ... that was a little too close for comfort for me . '' Drexel President John Fry released a statement Saturday expressing relief at Porter 's safe return and thanking all those involved . Three Drexel students remain in Egypt and all of them want to stay as long as U.S. officials do not recommend they leave , Fry said . Asked whether he wants to return to Egypt , Derrik Sweeney told CNN , `` I really enjoyed most of my time there and hopefully one day , '' but , he added , `` not very soon . '' CNN 's TJ Holmes and Josh Levs , and Journalist Bill Kirkos contributed to this report .
Derrik ##e : ` ` I actually did '' Sweeney : Evidence against us ` ` were false '' Egyptian prosecutor said a lot of bottles and gasoline was found near the 3 students . All three have returned home .