In an “SNL” skit that aired last November, a politically (and factually) incorrect relative at Thanksgiving dinner claimed that she “actually saw an ISIS in the A&P the other day.” While just a joke, when you consider how the FBI is acting these days, the sentiment doesn’t actually seem too crazy. The Bureau has a long history of secretive tactics, but has reached a new high with regards to terrorism-related cases, according to a recent New York Times analysis.

In investigations against Americans suspected of involvement with the Islamic terrorist group, undercover “sting” operations have played a part in two-thirds of cases, or 67 percent, since February 2015, compared to 30 percent in 2014, according to the analysis. During these sting operations, FBI employees or informants pose as Jihadists, bomb-makers, and gun dealers to connect with ISIS members.

Undercover operators have helped suspects acquire weapons and plan routes to Syria to join the Islamic State. Some have gone so far as to drive a suspect to a synagogue where he wanted to carry out a bombing, arresting the bomber as he stepped out of the car with the bomb in his hand.

Michael B. Steinbach, Executive Assistant Director of the FBI’s National Security Branch told the Times, “We’re not going to wait for the person to mobilize on his own time line.”

The FBI’s tactics, though effective, put their employees in a risky legal situation. Agents have to toe the line between allowing a crime and provoking one to avoid illegal entrapment, an issue which has surfaced in court.

In 2013, four terrorists tried to appeal their convictions by accusing officers of entrapment among other crimes, like perjury. The court found that the agents had not entrapped the criminals, even though the investigation was intense and included an FBI-manufactured fake missile that was delivered to the men.

When it comes to search and seizure issues, undercover operations are in their own category and do not require a warrant, but some still find the practices unethical.

Former undercover FBI agent Michael German told the New York Times that the FBI is “manufacturing terrorism cases…these people [working undercover] are five steps away from being a danger to the United States.” 

Samantha Reilly

Samantha Reilly is an editorial intern at Law Street Media. A New Jersey native, she is pursuing a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. Contact Samantha at SReilly@LawStreetMedia.com.

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It’s the weekend, so time to check out Law Street’s weird arrests of the week. Give a look at the slideshow below:

Don’t Drink and Fly

Image courtesy of Bernal Saborio via Flickr

Jeff Rubin, 27, from Oregon, was arrested after he urinated on other passengers during a flight. He was, unsurprisingly, intoxicated and arrested upon arrival.

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.

Sports stadiums are great places for brawls to break out. Or fist fights, alcohol induced screaming matches, or a whole litany of other inappropriate behavior. So, in some cities with NFL teams, police are coming up with new ways to try to stem the violence. In Seattle, for example, members of the police force are going to go undercover as opposing teams’ fans. At last night’s game against Green Bay, Seattle officers planned to wander around in Packers’ garb.

Apparently this is not a new thing — officers have shown up to games a few times before dressed as opposing teams’ fans. In a post-season 49ers-Giants game last year, for example, there were undercover cops in Giants wear.

The move is an interesting and pragmatic one in a sport that has a history of fighting almost as old as the NFL itself. It’s not hard to find examples of two teams’ fans getting into it — take the nasty fight between fans of the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys last October, for example. Two groups, each wearing their teams’ jerseys, brawled in the stadium parking lot after one woman slapped a man for reasons still unknown but probably related to the game that had just let out. The fight escalated until people were hit over the head with beer bottles in a confrontation that lasted for a total of 25 minutes. In a follow up with the police after the fight, local news station NBC 7 learned that there are arrests after pretty much every Chargers home game.

The fights don’t even always happen during games that really matter. A few years ago, after a preseason game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders, two men were shot in an apparent sports-induced altercation.

It’s pretty easy to understand how football games, and other sports for that matter, can end in blows. In addition to freely flowing alcohol, there’s something about sports that can get people so completely riled up. Christian End, a professor of sports fan behavior at Xavier University, explains the phenomenon, pointing out that it’s easy to get swept up in a crowd. As End explains it, “the anonymity of large crowds can afford some fans the opportunity to act in a way that they typically wouldn’t because there’s less accountability and less fear of repercussion.”

There’s few solutions to the problem of fan violence at football games, and the ones that do exist seem entirely unlikely to be implemented. For example, given that alcohol is often fuel for these fights, it would make sense to ban alcohol at sporting events, or at the very least install some sort of drink limit. But given the huge profits made from selling alcohol at football games, I highly doubt any NFL team would ever comply.

So, here we are, with undercover cops dressed up as fans from incoming teams. Well, sort of. They’re undercover in the sense that they are not easily distinguishable as cops, but in Seattle the police are being very forthright about their plans. The operation is an attempt to deter violence in the first place — a message to Seahawks fans not to attack that jerk in the Packers shirt, because he may be able to turn around and arrest you. If it goes well, and the officers are able to respond accordingly to any violence that does break out, it’s a model that would be pretty easily implemented throughout the country at games that are high risk for confrontations. Fights will probably still happen, but hopefully some would-be brawlers will think twice.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead 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.

Featured image courtesy of [Jame and Jesse via Flickr]

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 Undercover Cops Coming to an NFL Game Near You appeared first on Law Street.

“Cops pretend to be 11th graders, then arrest 25 students.” This is an actual headline. This is not an advertisement for 21 Jump Street. This is not a promo for a funny cop procedural, or an SNL skit. This actually happened.

In Southern California, two undercover cops have been posing as students for the entirety of this semester, trying to weed out drug dealers, pun not intended. I didn’t really know that this was a thing that happened in real life. So I did some research. And it turns out that it’s not an isolated incident. Cops all over the country are infiltrating high schools to weed out teen drug dealers.

Let’s look at the story of Deputy Donna Rogan, from Carter County, TN. At 22, she posed as a 17 year old high school student for ten months. She did her school work, attended a full course load, and made friends. The police department called her assignment “Operation Jump Street,” referencing the 1980s hit tv show and 2012 movie about cops who go undercover in a local high school to track down drug dealers. Eventually, Deputy Regan’s investigation led to the arrest of nine students and five adults. Drugs, guns, and a couple cars were eventually confiscated. The types of drugs found included marijuana and some prescription drugs.

A similar story came out of Southern California last week. Between Perris High School and Pomona Valley High School, 25 students were arrested for selling drugs by two cops posing as 17-year-olds. They found marijuana, cocaine, crack, hashish, and prescription drugs being sold around the two secondary schools.

You can find story after story after story of young undercover cops targeting teenage drug dealers. Consider Officer Alex Salinas, who pretended to be in high school for eight months last year in Central California or this unidentified officer who infiltrated a school near Tampa Bay. And, remember, these are just the operations that were successful and publicized.

It’s good that we’re cracking down on drugs in schools. Drugs are bad. Teenagers should not be doing them. But…is this really the best way to do so?

There are a lot of inherent problems with sending cops undercover to infiltrate high schools. First, does it actually work? Well, no one is really sure. A 2007 DOJ report on undercover drug stints reported that while such operations can sometimes track down drug users and low-level dealers, they usually force the real mastermind or supplier underground. The report states that stings have not conclusively resulted in success.

Then there’s the ethical side of things. Most of the kids who are busted are buying or selling relatively small amounts of the drug. In a state like California, where it’s pretty easy to get medical marijuana, the amounts being sold are relatively inconsequential. I’m not saying that their behavior is ok but I think there’s a greater ‘good’ argument to be made here. These undercover cops, who are adults my age and a bit older are going into high school to interact with 14 to18-year-olds. While 4 or so years may not seem that much, I can assure there’s a huge difference in the maturity of a 17-year-old and a 22-year-old. And so the cops go in and gain the teen’s trust then manipulate them and eventually turn around to arrest the young person with whom they’ve spent the past few months building a rapport.

In weighing the costs, is harming the trust of a kid over a little bit of weed worth it? Maybe. But there’s a lot of potential for harm. For example, an 18-year-old student named Justin in Palm Beach fell in love with a 25-year-old woman, who was posing as an undercover cop. She asked him to get her marijuana, he said he didn’t smoke, but that he would help her find some. After she asked him many times, the kid helped track down some for his new “girlfriend” and gave it to her. She arrested him.

The Snodgrass family of Temecula, CA is filing a lawsuit against an undercover cop, who they allege tricked their autistic son into buying marijuana for him. They claim that the ordeal indicated negligence, and resulted in emotional distress. The boy was befriended by an undercover deputy, which thrilled his parents because he had a hard time making friends. The deputy hounded Snodgrass to buy pot for him, and he eventually did, leading to his arrest.

Quite frankly, I think this is ridiculous. Regardless of the good short term effects in getting some drugs out of schools, I think the effect it can have on high school students is much worse. If we want our young people to be law-abiding and trustful citizens, is this really the best way to introduce them to the justice system?

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead 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.

Featured image courtesy of [Ivy Dawned via Flickr]

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 Cops Are Pretending to be High Schoolers…Obligatory 21 Jump Street Reference? appeared first on Law Street.