Eight American activists - including "laser graffiti" artist James Powderly and several protesters who held a lighted "Free Tibet" banner near the centerpiece "birds' nest" stadium of the Beijing Olympics - were put on a plane to Los Angeles late Sunday night.

According to this Los Angeles Times account, the eight were deported quietly during the Olympics' closing ceremonies after spending several days in detention. (There's a photo of Powderly's return on the web site of his arts group, Laser Graffiti Research. And Students for a Free Tibet, the group with whom Powderly and others collaborated, has updated information here.)

As I mentioned in this space Wednesday, Powderly (pictured) had planned to beam a laser pro-Tibet message onto a Beijing building. Soon after Powderly was detained, protesters holding the lighted banner (using L.E.D.'s developed by Laser Graffiti Research) were also arrested after getting their banner up for 20 seconds.

Laser Graffiti Research made the rounds of Park City during January's Sundance Film Festival, throwing up graffiti-like laser images on outer walls of the Eccles Center and other locations.