Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

12 Arrested After London Terror Attack

On Saturday evening, Britain suffered its third terrorist attack in just a few months. This time, a van drove into a crowd of people on the London Bridge. Then, three men jumped out and started stabbing people at the nearby Borough Market. Seven people died and at least 50 were injured. Police shot and killed the three attackers. A day after the attack, Islamic State took responsibility. Yesterday, 12 people were arrested in connection with the attack and this morning, police raided two addresses in East London. Now a lot of people are questioning Britain’s counterterrorism capabilities, and many are criticizing Prime Minister Theresa May for not doing enough. The latest tragedy comes only a few days before Britain holds its general election on Thursday.

The President is taking the London Mayor’s comments out of context to attack him—just days after his city experienced a terror attack. https://t.co/IW2CHewKCz

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 5, 2017

President Donald Trump condemned the attack on Twitter, but also mocked London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, further straining the relationship between the two countries. He also pointed to Saturday’s attack as justification for his travel ban, which is currently held up in court. His attack on the mayor was internationally criticized, and several Democrats have slammed the idea of a travel ban in the wake of the attack.

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.

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At a rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump cycled through his usual talking points, like “America first,” but also spoke about an ongoing tragedy on the other side of the world: “When I look at what is going on in Syria, it’s so sad,” Trump told the raucous crowd at the Giant Center. “It’s so sad, and we’re going to help people,” he added, by building “safe zones” in Syria.

Trump added that he would ask Persian Gulf countries to help pay for the project. Many military analysts and experts view “safe zones” as being too difficult to manage and protect, and warn that they could come with extreme risks as well. For one, the effort would require U.S. boots on the ground to protect Syrians within the “safe zones.” Some also point to a potentially deadly consequence of establishing “safe zones:” the implication of “unsafe zones,” or the area outside the protected “safe zone” which the Syrian regime or jihadist groups could abuse and pummel as free-for-all areas with an unhinged license to kill.

Thursday’s rally was Trump’s second of the week, and was a part of his “thank you” tour of battleground states that were key to his Election Day victory. He was the first Republican to win Pennsylvania since 1988. He won 44,292 more votes than Democrat Hillary Clinton, winning by less than one percent of total ballots cast in the state. And while he recapped his election triumph, and ran through his usual themes, his mention of “safe zones” in Syria was unusual, and perhaps signals his policy plans for the war-torn nation.

Trump is not the only notable leader to call for “safe zones” in Syria. In April, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been trying to stave the building tides of Syrian refugees into Europe by brokering a deal with Turkey, said she is in favor of “safe zones.” But the UN and other human rights groups oppose such a move, as does President Barack Obama. “Sadly, it is very difficult to see how it would operate short of us essentially being willing to militarily take over a big chunk of that country,” Obama said at the time.

The situation in Syria has deteriorated since April, and it’s unclear if Merkel would stand by her remarks from then. After a three-week offensive, Aleppo is officially in the hands of government forces, as hundreds of civilians have been killed, and thousands more displaced from their homes. Refugees from Syria might find it difficult to emigrate to the U.S. once Trump is in office. In his rally on Thursday, Trump reiterated that he will restrict immigrants from countries that have a history of Islamic extremism from entering the U.S.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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On a quiet Thursday afternoon about 3,000 of Bernie Sanders’ supporters packed into a skatepark outside of RFK Stadium in Washington, DC to watch him rally once again–many likely thinking that this could be their final time to see him before he suspends his campaign.

Image Courtesy of Scott Zimmerman

What was different about Thursday’s speech was, well, nothing. Filled with his normal rhetoric and fiery and inspirational pushes for equal rights and justice for all Americans, Sanders caught the attention of the crowd and continued to push his idea of the “political revolution.”

.@BernieSanders said exactly the right thing. Get through DC, take a break, get with HRC, get to work beating Trump.

— Steve Schale (@steveschale) June 9, 2016

Unfortunately, Sanders did not stray from his talking points and discuss his Thursday meeting with President Barack Obama where he reportedly indicated that he is willing to back the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. He also didn’t bring up the president’s endorsement of Clinton, which occurred just hours before he spoke. He made no mention of any of those events and no mention that it is time to unify as Democrats…instead saying that the results from California aren’t even all in yet.

So if @BernieSanders ultimately wins California (might still happen) & then Washington DC … DNC in Philly will be interesting.

— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) June 10, 2016

However, amidst all of the impassioned speeches and cheers from the crowd, you could sense the feeling of denial in Sanders’ voice, and you could feel that it was his last stand.

Instead of using the time and the platform to urge his supporters toward unification of the party, he further polarized them. Chants of “Never Hillary” echoed through the crowd as he spoke about big money in politics. But he is doing his supporters a grave disservice by telling them that there is still hope. The naiveté of the situation is troubling, and is going to leave a lot of die-hard supporters left feeling even more so that the entire system was against them.

Image Courtesy of Scott Zimmerman

Of the many people I met in the crowd, few said they are willing to switch to Clinton. Some said they would even vote for Trump, and many others said they just wouldn’t vote.

Sanders stressed that women (along with other groups) did not used to have the right to vote, yet now his silence–or in some cases contradictory rhetoric–is being inferred by many of his supporters as a signal to not exercise that privilege. By not owning up to the idea that his campaign is coming to a close, he is further hurting Clinton’s chances against Trump. As the Democratic party continues to be divided, it is hard to imagine what November will look like between Clinton and Trump.

Today, as D.C. votes, it will most likely be Sanders’ last day in the race. Even if he does not drop out, it will still signify a deficit that will not be overcome no matter how many times Sanders tries to say more people voted for him. There’s a message here for Sanders: you joined the presidential race to catalyze institutional change, but that does not mean that you can just pretend that there is a secret outcome that has been robbed from you.

Bernie Sanders refuses to concede the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton https://t.co/VB3QxknsOf by @yamiche pic.twitter.com/Byh5UHccBT

— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) June 13, 2016

If Sanders chooses to stay and continues to cause division, votes will be split between the Democratic nominee and other parties, giving more power to Trump. So, if Sanders really want to see his political revolution happen, he may need to get a grip and work with Clinton this round until he gets his shot.

Image Courtesy of Scott Zimmerman

Julia Bryant

Julia Bryant is an Editorial Senior Fellow at Law Street from Howard County, Maryland. She is a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Economics. You can contact Julia at JBryant@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Under an endless blue sky and a blazing white sun, Washington D.C.’s Lafayette Square was awash in crimson on Sunday afternoon. Turkish and American flags danced in the wind; hundreds of flag bearers milled about in red hats, tee shirts and bags, most of which were stamped with the moon and star insignia of the Republic of Turkey.

As hordes of people poured out of coach buses and into the square, which abuts the White House’s North Lawn, Turkic and Arabic blared through foghorns, announcing free sandwiches and soda. A cluster of young girls in hijabs (traditional Muslim headscarves) handed out Turkish chocolate bars and juice boxes.

The Peace and Solidarity Walk was about to begin. Hundreds of people would spend the next few hours chanting, singing, and dancing their way to the Turkish Embassy in support of their motherland and its leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Organized by the Turkish American National Steering Committee, or TASC, event flyers and brochures pegged the rally as a symbol of support behind Turkey in fighting “Islamophobia,” “terrorism and extremism,” and “Syria’s brutal regime.”

Children and their parents draped in red walk from the White House to the Turkish Embassy. [Image courtesy of Alec Siegel for Law Street Media]

But interviews with a number of participants hinted at perhaps an underlying motive: a response to recent protests by Armenians in Washington and Turkey.

“Armenian people are making protests against the Turkish government making accusations about the [1915 genocide],” said Berk Usal, a TASC staff member and English language exchange student from Turkey. “We are making a reaction to show we are with our nation, with our state.”

Though the facts are hazy, the international community officially recognizes the grisly events of April 1915 as a genocide. Armenians say 1.5 million of their people were slaughtered under Ottoman rule, though Turkey argues it was simply a consequence of a civil war, pointing out that thousands of Turks were killed as well.

“We fight [Armenia] a long time,” explained Sait Unay, who came with his mosque from Brooklyn to stand behind his motherland. Wearing a sweat-soaked hat, he sat under the shade of a tree, watching as the red mass of people and cars–one with a Turkish flag paint job–streaked by. His rocky English brought him to the crux of his reason for making the four-hour journey from Brooklyn:

“We are protesting Armenia.”

But overall, the rally was a joyous affair, and whatever their reasons for being there, the marching Turkish-Americans sang songs and engaged in coordinated chants as they curled around DuPont Circle, the home stretch of Embassy Row.

A kid in a karate uniform (he was an orange belt) held a sign that read, “Peace at home, peace in the world.”

The untamable red blob clogged 17th street, past the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery, as countless baffled tourists captured video of the rally on their phones. (Overheard: “Isn’t that the Soviet Union flag?”). At one point, a convoy of cars honked, as drivers and passengers waved miniature Turkish flags out their windows.

A true Turkish patriot. [Image courtesy of Alec Siegel for Law Street Media]

As a buffer zone between the tumultuous Middle East and the crumbling stability of Western Europe, the former Ottoman state needs all the support it can get. Refugees fleeing war-torn villages and the brutal Assad regime in Syria, as well as those fleeing violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, favored the path through Turkey to reach ports in the Greek islands, particularly Lesbos.

That route–often tumultuous and deadly–saw thousands of people each month pack into boats in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea en route to Germany, their ultimate destination. But a pact between Turkey and the E.U. re-routed most migrants to journey through Libya and Italy instead. Spearheaded by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkey is required to take back migrants who reach Greece after the deal went into place on March 20. Those who had reached Greece before that date would be dealt with on a case by case basis. In exchange for housing nearly 2.7 million refugees, Turkey has demanded visa-free travel for its citizens.

There was little obvious resistance to the passionate mass of Turkey supporters, but standing by a bronze statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk--who in 1923 founded the Republic of Turkey—Hudai Yavalar was shaking his head. 

“Most of [the rally participants] are government-sponsored,” said Yavalar, chairman of the Atatürk Society of America, a non-partisan organization dedicated to preserving the ideals of the father of modern Turkey (Atatürk: “father of Turks”). “[Erdogan] wants to show America ‘we are strong.'”

The rally saw mosques from around the country–Chicago, Brooklyn, New Jersey–bus over their members to participate. Yavalar was suspicious of their motives for being there.

As the rally raged, Yavalar camped out next to the statue of Atatürk, protecting the red and white petunias and Mediterranean Pinks encircling it. Spillovers from the rally would pop up every now and then to have their photo taken with the sculpted father of the Turkish state.

Encircled by Hudai Yavalar’s flowers: a statue of the founder of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. [Image courtesy of Alec Siegel for Law Street Media]

“Don’t step on the flowers!” Yavalar cautioned the eager cloisters of friends or families, alternating between English and Turkic, his native tongue. 

A woman wearing a hijab and clutching a Turkish flag barely dipped her toe in the soil. Yavalar was on high alert.

“Ma’am please,” he pleaded, “I came here just to defend the flowers.”

Born and raised as a Muslim in Turkey, Yavalar has since distanced himself from the religion and from the country he says he hardly recognizes anymore.

“[Turkey] is not the way it used to be,” he said, railing against a state he sees as secular in name only. “They are Islamists.” In between nervous glances at his flower garden, Yavalar said that Turkey’s recent actions, namely the jailing of Turkish and foreign journalists, is bringing it back “to the Middle Ages.”

A few blocks away, two giant Turkish flags adorned the front gate of the Turkish Embassy, the finish line of the rally. Police officers stationed at the Embassy of Japan across the street watched as the usually tranquil Embassy Row turned raucous.

The chief rallying cry could probably be heard from Capitol Hill: “We support Turkey! We support America! We support peace!”

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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