Having been deployed to Los Angeles by President Donald Trump to quell protests against ICE, U.S. Marines detained their first civilian on Friday—an Army veteran on his way to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
After being shown images of the detention, the military confirmed to Reuters that Marines did detain Marcos Leao, a 27-year-old of Angolan and Portuguese descent who obtained U.S. citizenship through military service.
The images show Marines detaining Leao, restraining him with zip ties, and handing him over to the Department of Homeland Security. The military’s Northern Command spokesperson told Reuters that members of the military “may temporarily detain an individual in specific circumstances.”
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“Any temporary detention ends immediately when the individual(s) can be safely transferred to the custody of appropriate civilian law enforcement personnel,” the spokesperson added.
Following his release, Leao explained that he was on his way to an office at the Department of Veterans Affairs when he crossed a boundary established by some yellow tape and was asked to stop. He also told reporters that he had been treated fairly, saying of the Marines, “They’re just doing their job.”
The Marines took over guard duty outside the Wilshire Federal Building in Sawtelle on Friday afternoon. In addition to Veterans Affairs, the 17-story building houses offices for the FBI and a federal passport agency. The building is where California Senator Alex Padilla was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed during a DHS news conference on Thursday.
Approximately 700 Marines were activated earlier this week to deploy to L.A. alongside more than 2,000 National Guardsmen by Trump and tasked with protecting federal property and personnel during ongoing anti-ICE protests in the city, including by accompanying ICE agents on raids.
The soldiers deployed in L.A. are authorized to detain people they believe pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only long enough for police to arrest them, as they are not able to perform arrests themselves. Under normal circumstances, the U.S. military is not permitted to take part in civilian law enforcement. As Reuters notes, the last time the military was used in this way was in response to the 1992 protests in Los Angeles following the acquittal of police officers who beat Rodney King.
The presence of soldiers at federal buildings in Los Angeles comes ahead of a nationwide day of protests planned for Saturday, dubbed the “No Kings” protests, and after days of protests against immigration raids across the city. Los Angeles is home to more than 4 million immigrants.
