You can argue her detainment was politically motivated as was her punishment but it wasn’t wrong. Drugs are illegal in Russia and she knowingly brought them in thinking she wouldn’t be singled out. There are numerous countries where she would have been in a lot trouble of trouble with those.

District 13 dear, promise me that you'll never lose that sense of childlike naiveté you have. It's entirely possible that she did have the drugs with her. It's also entirely possible that they were planted on her (Russians are even more horrible than Republicans) and that she pled guilty because she was in a kangaroo court.

The substation thing is both fascinating and creepy. Fun fact: On January 1, 1976, the Laurelhurst substation was destroyed by a domestic terrorist group! https://historylink.org/File/3611

Hundreds of billions if not trillions given to Homeland Security and its offshoots since 9/11, and they can't even keep us safe from a handful of hillbillies.

@3 This is the first time I've ever heard someone claim a female basketball player is "privileged" due to her role as a professional athlete. Interesting!

@3 Really?!? So you’re arguing that had she been just some regular person, the federal government would have traded an arms dealer for her? Pretty sure you or I would still be serving hard time.

Sorry, meant @6 on that last comment.

Sir Toby dear, just promise me this: if someone on the internet asks you for your bank account number, you will refuse to give it, no matter how convincing their story is.

@2 fair enough Mrs Vel-Duray, it’s possible she was framed I just don’t think it’s probable. I’d have to believe the government that kills its enemies with polonium poisoning couldnt think of anything more creative than vape cartridges? She has a medical pot license in AZ so clearly she uses. I think the vape stuff was hers and politically she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

@2 Catalina Vel-DuRay: I already had a good idea, but yoiks! That Russians are even worse than RepubliKKKans doesn't entice me to travel to anywhere east of Europe if ever I venture abroad. Morocco and Afghanistan don't sound too nice, either.

@4 Brent Gumbo: I noticed that power grid vandalism in Washington State has been occurring in mostly rural, RepubliKKKan legislative districts (i.e.: Cowlitz County). Are people just bored, stupid, dangerously stir crazy, or a combination of all three? I'll bet a lot of folks there in timber country hate anyone trying to save the spotted owl, too.

I feel your pain, Celine Dion. I hope you're feeling better soon.

@12 STII: Um....maybe because too many RepubliKKKans are MAGAt-brainwashed, racist, misogynist, gun-totin', bible misquotin' RWNJ hillbillies, themselves, and don't want their kinfolk to suffer? They takes care of their own!

Ms. Griner admitted in the Russian court that she "mistakenly" packed the cartridges, so the conspiracy theory that the Russians planted them was negated months ago.

Of course, in all likelihood, it was no accident as stoners are always aware where their stashes are. She wanted to get high in Russia and paired with some good Russian vodka and Beluga caviar, why not?

I suppose it's progress that the passage of same sex marriage legislation in both houses of Congress is greeted with a giant yawn by the staff at the Stranger. But still...

Jas, South Side is such a underrated treat. Solid screwball black working class humor. Not exactly for the Seattle/Stranger demographic: Too urban:).

@4, @12, heavens to murgatroyd, those hillbilly racists constitute a considerable portion of the base. As long as the GOP has significant political leverage, they'll never get investigated.

@17 neo-realist: It's a shame every member of the MAGAt base doesn't just breathe on each other and drop like Mike Pence's flies. Presto! Democracy and this dying planet could be saved for future generations.
And to think that the Party of Orange Turd is willing to destroy the Earth all for their insatiable selfishness and corporate greed, all for vengeance in blood money for Richard M. Nixon's resignation from the U.S. Presidency on August 9, 1974. RepubliKKKans are not only horrible excuses for people, they're sore losers.

Rainsdrop dear, I have a feeling that you would confess to screwing your poodle if you thought it might buy you some mercy in a Russian court.

Russia is a terrible country. Rotten to the core. Just because they took down the hammer & sickle, that doesn't mean they changed their policies.

@20: You are only arguing possibilities. Not the same as probabilities. Your hunches mean nothing.

@20: Let me rephrase that. I get your passion. Russia is a terrible country. Agreed. So is China and Iran. The axis of pure evil. But all that doesn't necessarily add credence that Britany Spears was framed.

I think the point here gumdrop is the punishment far exceeded anything reasonable. Do russians with 0.7 resin get put into penal colonies for 9 years? But knowitalls gonna knowitall.
Wonder what the allowable is in Texas.

Poor dear naive Raindrop. It's not "passion" on my part. It's a statement of fact. Russia is well known for their show trials.

She very well may have had drugs on her. Who knows? But to accept any proceedings of a Russian court at face value is the height of folly.

@24: Of course the punishment exceeds anything reasonable. That point is inherently germane.

@25: Then we're essentially in agreement Mrs. Vel-DuRay. Pour me another cup would you dear? And I'll take another slice of Mr. Vel-DuRay's pumpkin pie.

"I never heard of her before the arrest so I really don’t understand the outcry to free her."

So because you are ignorant of a very popular sport, you don't understand the outcry. Interesting. That sounds suspiciously like narcissism. If you don't think it is important, then by definition, it isn't. So if say, Sachin Tendulkar died suddenly, and thousands of people lined up to put flowers on his grave, you wouldn't understand the sorrow. Those type of public outcries only apply to people who are famous to you.

Holy shit, dude, Griner was a WNBA all-star 8 times. She was one of the greatest players in the game. It isn't hard to look this shit up. Maybe you don't give a shit about sports, music, dance or anything else about a culture. That doesn't mean those cultural leaders aren't important.

wow, came here to make a comment about the sincerity of native Hawaiians and the deeply held beliefs about Pele. Its been awhile since i looked into the comments for the news here. What a shitshow. You all should be embarrassed.

Mr. Wheelan was dishonorably discharged from the Marine Corps Reserve for attempted larceny and was in Russia as a representative of a Michigan auto parts company. While he is another one who could have been set up, the details are decidedly murky.

Ms. Griner, on the other hand, was there with a stated purpose and as a public figure. She has been traveling to Russia annually for ten years - not only to make more money than she could in the USA, but also as a goodwill ambassador in a country hostile to POC and members of the LGBTQA+ community.

I think that we should celebrate the release of any American who is released from Russian captivity and try not to buy into Russian propaganda meant to divide us. But I'm old-fashioned that way.