RantCrush Top 5: May 3, 2017

Yesterday news broke that an FBI translator who was supposed to investigate a member of ISIS instead fell in love with her target. In 2014, Daniela Greene, who is fluent in German, was assigned to spy on the German-born former rapper turned ISIS recruiter Denis Cuspert who had moved to Syria. He had taken a Muslim name, praised Osama bin Laden, and appeared in a propaganda video holding a severed head. For some reason, Greene warned Cuspert that he was under investigation before leaving her husband in the U.S. to go to Syria where she married the ISIS recruiter.

However, Greene returned to America after only two months, in August 2014, and was arrested upon arrival. In December 2014, she was sentenced to two years in prison. She is now working as a hotel hostess. But many people are upset that she received such a lenient sentence, as she jeopardized national security. Critics also point out that ISIS-related prosecutions result in an average of 13.5 years in prison in the U.S.

An FBI translator traveled to Syria in 2014 and married a key ISIS operative she had been assigned to investigate https://t.co/4TlVa0PETa pic.twitter.com/8LIdJOah6Z

— CNN International (@cnni) May 2, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.