Clay Higgins, Did You Seriously Think This Was a Good Idea?

Somehow, Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins thought filming a video for his re-election campaign inside a gas chamber in Auschwitz was a good idea. Higgins is no stranger to controversy: last month he said that the U.S. should hunt down and kill all Islamic terrorism suspects. In the video clip, he talked about the importance of homeland security and making sure the country is safe from “the evils of the world.”

Negative reactions were swift. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum denounced the video, tweeting that the concentration camp is “not a stage.”

Everyone has the right to personal reflections. However, inside a former gas chamber, there should be mournful silence. It’s not a stage. https://t.co/AN5aA1bYEU

— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) July 4, 2017

Some people questioned whether Higgins was aware of the context–the brutal genocide propagated by the Nazis was not an external threat but an internal one. One Twitter user wrote that Auschwitz should also stand “as a reminder of what demonization of people by the state can lead to.” The U.S.-based Anne Frank Center denounced the video in harsh terms, calling it “a global disgrace.” Yesterday, Higgins apologized and said that his intent was to remind people that evil exists, which most of us are all too aware of already. “I have retracted my video…and my sincere apology for any unintended pain is extended,” he said in a statement.

DISGUSTING. @RepClayHiggins your infomercial at Auschwitz a global disgrace. Apologize. Get sensitivity training or a new job. #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/ddjf7EhwMc

— Anne Frank Center (@AnneFrankCenter) July 5, 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.

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Apparently, someone lost their luggage, and they’re probably pretty upset about it. Bags that washed up on two beaches in Norfolk on England’s east coast turned out to contain almost 800 pounds of cocaine, worth more than $60 million. A member of the public found the drugs, packed in colorful North Face bags.

The National Crime Agency deals with organized crime in the UK, and responded to the find. “This is obviously a substantial seizure of class A drugs and its loss will represent a major blow to the organized criminals involved,” said Matthew Rivers from the NCA border investigation team. He added that the place where the bags showed up was most likely not the intended destination–they were found outside two small towns with a couple of thousand people each, Hopton-on-Sea and Caister-on-Sea. The NCA is working with the coastguard to try to determine where the drugs were supposed to go.

Investigation after £50m cocaine found on Norfolk beaches > https://t.co/ieKU1kGOku pic.twitter.com/GT6PoGYkCW

— Norfolk Police (@NorfolkPolice) February 10, 2017

This is not the first time drugs on the loose ended up on a beach in the British Isles. In October, a torpedo-like device with over $5 million of cocaine inside was found stranded on a beach in Western Ireland and was believed to have been there for weeks or months before anyone noticed. There was another similar incident in 2008. And the biggest cocaine seizure in the UK was water related as well–three tons in 2015, worth over $620 million, found in a ship off the coast of Scotland. That seizure led to the arrest of two Turkish nationals.

Drug trafficking to the United Kingdom is estimated to cost law enforcement £10.7 billion a year, which is about $13.3 billion. The amount of cocaine imported every year is believed to be somewhere between 25-30 tons. And though it’s not very likely that someone will come forward to claim this most recent case of lost drugs, the NCA took the opportunity to have some fun with it.

And you thought your missing luggage was bad… If anyone wants to claim it, we’re keeping it safe for you https://t.co/SVrrG8t30p

— NationalCrimeAgency (@NCA_UK) February 10, 2017

Soon there were a bunch of jokes about the drug find, with some saying they should make a version of the show “Narcos,” and various members of the public suggesting that they could take care of the bags.

@EdmondBeech @NorfolkPolice Somewhere very safe. But the rightful owners can come and collect it anytime

— NationalCrimeAgency (@NCA_UK) February 10, 2017

But the NCA doesn’t take criminal activity lightly.

@EdmondBeech@NorfolkPolice Well not if you aren’t smuggling cocaine into Norfolk or involved in some other serious crime. Are you…?

— NationalCrimeAgency (@NCA_UK) February 10, 2017

Norfolk police urged members of the public to get in touch if they find anything suspicious…or this weird!

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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Apparently everyone uses social media these days–even poachers. A string of wildlife traffickers based out of Vietnam have been discovered using Facebook to sell large amounts of ivory, rhino horn, and tiger parts. On Monday and Tuesday the results from a yearlong investigation by the Wildlife Justice Commission WJC, will be presented at the Peace Palace in The Hague.

Investigators combed through a small Vietnamese village, Nhi Khe and found illegal goods worth $53.1 million, sold by 51 villagers both online and in person. Sadly, these products come from what are believed to be 907 elephants, 579 rhinos, 225 tigers, and other endangered species such as pangolins, bears, hawksbill turtles, and helmeted hornbills.

WJC tweeted early Monday morning the upsetting insight that people in the village didn’t even know what the animals used to make their products look like.

#WJCVietnam: @ossendryver on visit to VN found people didn’t really know what rhinos or elephants were ‘as animals’ just as products

— WJC (@WJCommission) November 14, 2016

The rise of social media has made it easier to sell products from the safety of your home. These sales happen through auctions in closed Facebook groups, where new visitors need to get approved by an admin before becoming members. Smugglers mainly sell processed products made from ivory or rhino, but there are also whole tusks and horns on the market. Payment is made via WeChat Wallet. They seem to be selling locally in Southeast Asia through Facebook, and use WeChat itself to sell to China.

Olivia Swaak-Goldman, Executive Director at WJC, said in a statement: “Our evidence shows that an amount of rhino horn equivalent to nearly half the rhinos poached annually in South Africa transits this village. Stopping this illegal trade requires urgent action.”

Tune into the #WJCVietnam Hearing by visiting: https://t.co/6QkP25KvfC pic.twitter.com/ymHayrIofW

— Born Free Foundation (@BFFoundation) November 14, 2016

But despite all the evidence, the statement said, in combination with diplomatic efforts, the Vietnamese government has not taken any action to stop the illegal smuggling. The government seems to have taken steps to prevent open trade, but behind closed doors, secret trading is still going on. This inaction is likely due to corruption.

#WJCVietnam: Milliken: we believe corruption is major issue at both ends of #illegaltrade supply chain. VN syndicates at both ends of chain.

— WJC (@WJCommission) November 14, 2016

However, on Monday morning, during the first part of the hearing, environmental reporting agency IISD tweeted that Vietnamese officials had made an arrest in connection to the wildlife traffickers.

#WJCVietnam: Viet Nam has made first arrest based on @WJCommission evidence last weekend. “An important first step.” https://t.co/xffQMd8JJD pic.twitter.com/0Mre9phfn3

— IISDRS (@IISDRS) November 14, 2016

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.

The post Vietnamese Wildlife Traffickers Sell Ivory and Rhino Horn On Facebook appeared first on Law Street.

Drunken bachelors, polite burglars, and children’s toy cars–all great additions to this week’s weird arrests. Check out the top five in the slideshow below:

Very Good Try

Image courtesy of Katsuhiro Osabe via Flickr

Amanda Schweickert, 28, of Sardinia, New York, was arrested after police noticed that she had no front license plate, and a fake license plate on the back of her car. That fake plate was made of cardboard–and not even well done. See it here.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Weird Arrests of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Hey y’all!

I have always been partial to the ‘Don’t Mess With Texas’ slogan; it gives a good heads up to anyone who wants to break the law or cause a ruckus in this great state! Osiel Cárdenas Jr., however, apparently did not get that memo.

Osiel Jr., son of former drug lord Osiel Cardenas Guillen, was reportedly arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents after they discovered nearly 500 rounds of ammunition and tactical weapons gear hidden in different parts of his sweet Cadillac Escalade SUV. Junior was attempting to cross a bridge going over the Rio Grande that connects South Texas to Mexico but got caught. He admitted to the items being his and to knowing that it was illegal to smuggle them into Mexico. What a winner–his dad must be so proud.

The inspection of the Cadillac Escalade SUV uncovered 290 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 161 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition, 29 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, two .223 rifle magazines, and other tactical weapons gear hidden in various parts of the car that included the glove box, center console, and a factory compartment behind the stereo buttons. A pat down of Osiel Jr. also brought to light 14.2 grams of marijuana hanging out in his underwear. That’s a strange place to keep your pot but hey, to each his own.

Osiel Cárdenas Jr. is scheduled for a hearing at a detention center tomorrow. The realities of smuggling across the border are real. If that is going into Mexico I can only wonder what is being brought into the states that we know nothing about. Border Patrol is a vital part of keeping this country safe and a lot of that comes through Texas.

Allison Dawson

Allison Dawson was born in Germany and raised in Mississippi and Texas. A graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University, she’s currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative. Get in touch with Allison at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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