No free speech : Ryan Pate was arrested in Abu Dhabi last month after complaining about his UAE employer on Facebook - a violation of the country 's law against slandering an employer . A hallmark of American life - griping about work - has landed a Florida man in a Middle Eastern jail . Ryan Pate , a helicopter mechanic from Belleair Bluffs , Florida , took to Facebook after a dispute over sick leave with the company he was working for in the United Arab Emirates . He was home in Florida at the time , but when he returned to Abu Dhabi last month , he was told to report to the police station , where he was arrested for breaking an Emirates law on slandering his employer . He spent about 10 days in jail , he said , and is now free on bail awaiting a March 17 trial . His supporters say he faces up to five years in prison and a steep fine if convicted . ' I just could n't register it in my head because as an American growing up in the United States , the First Amendment right is just ingrained in my brain , ' he said in a phone interview Wednesday . ' I never even entertained the fact that I would wind up in prison out here for something I put on Facebook in the United States . ' Pate , 30 , said the incident stemmed from a trip to Florida in December . During his return he spent the holidays with family and proposed to his girlfriend , Jillian Cardoza , but also was trying to get treatment for a back injury . There was disagreement with his bosses about extending his leave to see a doctor , he said , and after a particularly unsatisfactory phone call with them , he took to a Facebook . He says he ca n't remember precisely what he wrote , but knows he called his bosses 'backstabbers ' and warned other contractors not to work for them . He did n't give the rant much thought until he was back in the Persian Gulf , where he planned to handle paperwork to end his employment as well as empty his apartment and sell his car . Soon after , he says he received a call from police telling him to come to the station , where officers showed him screen shots of his comments . Pulled apart : Pate ( left ) had just proposed to his girlfriend Jillian Cardoza ( right ) when he was arrested by authorities in the UAE . His trial is set to begin on March 17 . ' I 'm being arrested . I 'm so sorry . I love you , ' Cardoza said he texted her from the station . Pate 's congressman , Rep. David Jolly , intervened on his constituent 's behalf , lobbying the State Department and Emirates officials for help . In a letter to the Emirati attorney general , Jolly emphasized respect for the sovereignty of the country , but argued because the posts occurred while Pate was on American soil , those laws should n't apply . 'It is deeply troubling that Mr . Pate now faces judicial proceedings over an action that was done legally in his home country , ' the Republican said . The Emirati Embassy in Washington said it did not have much information about the case and could n't comment . An after-hours email to the company , Global Aerospace Logistics , did not get an immediate reply . Pate said he 's trying not to think too much about the sentence he could face . He says he 's remorseful for letting his emotions get the best of him . A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Pate .
Ryan Pate was on a vacation from work , visiting his home in Florida , when he complained on Facebook about spat with UAE employer . When he flew back to Abu ##ton to quit , he was arrested for breaking the country 's law against slandering an employer . He faces up to five years in prison and a $ 500 fine if convicted . Pate had just proposed to his girlfriend when he was arrested . His trial is scheduled for March 2019 .