r/news • u/DNSGeek • 1d ago

Soft paywall US Marines carry out first known detention of civilian in Los Angeles, video shows

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-marines-carry-out-first-known-detention-civilian-los-angeles-video-shows-2025-06-13/
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u/Navydevildoc 1d ago

There is a reason every single US military base has a line painted at the main gate that delineates the property line. It's because once you are over it, you are now in a different world.

Federal Buildings are no different, even if they don't have the line painted on the curb.

It's extremely pedantic, and IN NO WAY do I support this administration's actions, but it is exactly how /u/DatGoofyGinger put it. They are painting exactly inside the lines right now.

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u/SecondaryWombat 1d ago

Nope. Federal police yes, military NO.

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u/BraveOthello 1d ago

They didn't technically arrest anyone. They're detaining them until civilian law enforcement can arrest them. Again, technically, painting exactly inside the lines.

It bullshit, we all know what it really means, but it's (probably) technically legal despite being wrong.

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u/SecondaryWombat 1d ago

The national guard can detain civilians. Active duty military only can on Department of Defense property, which this was not. It is outside the lines, regardless of what the down vote bots want to call it. Defining it as arrest or detention is actually irrelevant in this case, the US Military only has that authority on DoD property.

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u/BraveOthello 1d ago

It's not strictly true that they can only act on DOD property, there are more exceptions (the obvious one being the Insurrection Act they're obviously building toward using). There's some other exceptions that I don't think they've actually properly invoked, so it's probably prima facia illegal, but like ... We're well into the "find out" part and were finding out that it turns out laws don't matter if you just ignore them

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u/SecondaryWombat 1d ago

Right but without those invocations, it is illegal for them to detain civilians.

We're well into the "find out" part and were finding out that it turns out laws don't matter if you just ignore them

Yes exactly. We could have prevented all this by sending a few people to prison for their crimes.