The 700 Marines deployed by President Donald Trump to protect federal properties and to back up National Guardsmen and federal officers in Los Angeles have already shown that they’re all business. And right out of the chute, they were tested.
On Friday, the Marines from the Mojave Desert-based Twenty Nine Palms Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command wrapped up their specialized training to deal with rioters and other lawbreakers, in case it’s needed. The forces were trained in crowd control, de-escalation, and, if necessary, using less than lethal munitions to maintain order.
Only in rare cases are U.S. troops allowed to arrest or detain anyone, unless it’s to prevent “immediate harm.”
That exception was immediately tested in LA on Friday afternoon, when a man breached the perimeter around the federal buildings, was observed by a Marine, chased, and ordered to lie down.
NEW: United States Marines carry out the first known detention of a civilian in Los Angeles, California.
The Marines were seen detaining a man at the Wilshire Federal Building in LA.
The man who was detained was later identified as Marcos Leao, an army veteran.
Leao said he… pic.twitter.com/37xWObXAfF
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 14, 2025
It turns out the man, Marcos Leao, is an Army vet, and was trying to get to the Veterans Administration building nearby. He thought it would be a great idea to slip past the yellow police tape surrounding the federal buildings, and found out quickly that it was not. Despite being chased, zip-tied, detained, and held for the local cops, he was quite a cool customer, explaining, “They’re just doing their job. I didn’t expect it to be this intense here.”
Related: West Coast, Messed Coast™ LA Riot Edition, Where All Californians Ask, ‘Senator Who?’
Welcome to The Party, pal.
Of course, the Marines—and Trump—were the bad guys, according to Reuters:
U.S. Marines deployed to Los Angeles made their first detention of a civilian on Friday, part of a rare use of military force to support domestic police and coming ahead of national protests over President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington.
…A man who crossed the yellow police tape into the federal building complex in the riot zone of L.A. was ordered to immediately lie down on the ground
The leftist site wasn’t done contextualizing the story for its readership, however. This was the second ‘graf of the story:
The detention of the man, a U.S. Army veteran and an immigrant who obtained U.S. citizenship, punctuated a series of highly unusual events that have appealed to Trump supporters but outraged other Americans who are demonstrating discontent in the streets.
As usual, the reporters characterize using the military as a President Trump vanity project, as opposed to a serious effort at keeping order. After the gunning down of Minnesota lawmakers who voted against providing free healthcare to illegal immigrants, two attempted assassinations against Donald Trump, the 2020 riots, and now the manufactured outrage propelling these riots, there are serious concerns about the political will of local leaders to tamp down the rhetoric, enforce the law, and keep the peace.
Efforts to chill the rhetoric and keep the peace aren’t being helped by Mayor Karen Bass. The communista mayor and Castro acolyte, whose group engaged in domestic terrorism, as I wrote recently in Next Time, L.A., Don’t Elect a Commie Who Hates You. Here’s How, has been fueling outrage.
Related: L.A. Mayor’s Damning Response to Riots PROVES She Is All-In on Rioters’ Extortion Racket
Surrounded by her protest group cronies, Bass said, “We are here today because the raids have caused fear and panic. Can the federal government come in and seize power from a state and from a local jurisdiction? How much will the American people put up with?” She added, she wanted “peaceful” protests.
What exactly is she asking them to do?
If the 15 or so planned “protests” for the LA area Saturday get out of hand, and there’s no reason to believe they won’t—none whatsoever—they’ll probably try to goad the Marines again into doing something that will look bad on camera.
These agents provocateur hope to create a moment just as desperately as the California senator’s try this week, when federal agents tackled Alex Padilla as he lunged toward DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a news conference.
“I’m a senator!” protested the man, whom nobody recognized and looked to all as if he might be a 5150.
It’s theater. Dangerous theater.
In my Adult in the Room podcast yesterday, retired Army Colonel, National Guardsman during the Rodney King riots, TownHall colleague, and lawyer, Kurt Schlichter, confirmed the suspicions of many when he depicted this LA riot situation as an “information operation.”
How right he is. You can watch our discussion about the 2025 Summer of Love riots below.
Isn’t it nice to get a little balance in your news? We call out the people who push narrative over facts on the ground and we start with the presumption that President Trump isn’t an ogre hellbent on destroying the country. It’s a small ask, actually, but you would be shocked at how many news organizations fail to note that if he wanted to destroy the country, he could have done it by now.
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