[Text by Observer Network, Ruan Jiaqi]
Previously, U.S. President Trump ordered the deployment of approximately 700 Marine Corps soldiers and more than 4,000 California National Guard personnel to support law enforcement operations in the Los Angeles area for federal agencies. The Pentagon confirmed on the 13th that about 200 Marines have been stationed in Los Angeles.
Commander Scott Sherman of the 51st Task Force, responsible for military operations in the Los Angeles region, previously told the media that the Marines would take over tasks from the California National Guard guarding the Wilshire Federal Building. The building houses regional offices of several U.S. federal agencies, including the FBI.
Sherman emphasized that the troops are not authorized to make arrests but can temporarily detain individuals before law enforcement arrives.
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On Friday, Reuters captured footage of Marines detaining a black man at the Wilshire Federal Building. The video shows military personnel binding the man's hands with zip ties and then handing him over to civilian personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On the 13th, the U.S. military confirmed to Reuters that Marines had indeed temporarily detained a civilian that day. The report stated that this was the first known detention action taken by the military in the area.
In response to inquiries, a spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command said that active-duty forces "can temporarily detain individuals under specific circumstances." He also added that any temporary detention would immediately end once it could be safely transferred to appropriate civil law enforcement personnel.
The detained civilian is Marcos Leao (Marcos Leao), a 27-year-old man of Angolan and Portuguese descent who obtained U.S. citizenship through military service and is now a retired Army veteran.
Leao told Reuters that he was heading to the Department of Veterans Affairs office when he was asked to stop for crossing a yellow warning line. Regarding his arrest, he believed the Marines were "just doing their duty" and that he had been treated "very fairly."
According to Reuters, U.S. troops are only authorized to detain individuals who pose a threat to federal personnel or property if law enforcement has not yet arrived, and military officials cannot carry out arrests on their own.
U.S. media noted that the use of active-duty troops in domestic affairs is extremely rare. The Posse Comitatus Act, passed in 1878, prohibits the use of the U.S. Army and Navy for domestic law enforcement, and the Marine Corps and Air Force formed later are also subject to this restriction. Unless Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, which allows the military to directly participate in civil law enforcement, such actions are very rare.
Some U.S. officials previously reiterated that the Marines temporarily deployed to Los Angeles will only play a supporting role and will not invoke the Insurrection Act.
In the past week, the California Los Angeles riots triggered by illegal immigration issues have escalated further. Despite Governor Gavin Newsom's opposition, nearly 5,000 National Guardsmen and Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles by Trump one after another.
On the 11th, American media captured footage of these Marines training in an anti-riot formation with riot shields and batons at a nearby gymnasium.
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Major General Scott Sherman, in charge of the operation, stated that Marines are receiving anti-riot training at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station in Orange County, including training in tension de-escalation and crowd control.
Regarding the issue of carrying weapons, Sherman emphasized to reporters that Marine firearms will not be equipped with live ammunition, but soldiers going to the scene will carry live rounds.
Gavin Newsom's administration in California has filed a lawsuit against Trump on the grounds of unconstitutionality. Newsom continued to criticize on social media, stating that large numbers of troops are being "unconstitutionally" mobilized by the Trump administration. California does not need and does not want troops patrolling locally, and the current California government is "cleaning up the mess left by Trump."
Defense Secretary Chris Miller testified before Congress on the 11th, insisting that the deployment of troops to Los Angeles by the Trump administration aims to maintain law and order, and that this deployment "is constitutional." He also hinted that the Department of Defense has the ability to deploy additional National Guard units to other states if necessary.
This article is an exclusive contribution by Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7515659777888764455/
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