US Marines deployed to Los Angeles made their first detention of a civilian on Saturday, the military said, part of a rare domestic use of its forces sent to the city after days of protests over immigration raids.
The Trump administration has authorised a total of 700 Marines to be deployed in the city. It is uncommon for active-duty troops to be used domestically during civil disturbances.
Reuters news agency witnessed Marines detain one person at the Wilshire Federal Building, where the Marines had been posted. A Marine suddenly jumped over some benches and across a garden area to chase after a man, grabbed him and held him down until another Marine assisted him.
Images showed Marines restraining his hands with zip ties and then handing him over to civilians from the Department of Homeland Security nearly two hours later.
US military confirmed the detention, in the first known detention by active duty troops.
The detained man, Marcos Leao, 27, an immigrant and a US Army veteran, said he was told to get on the ground after venturing into a restricted area, as he crossed a line of yellow tape to avoid walking around the building.
Speaking to reporters after he was released, Leao said he was an Army veteran on his way to an office of the Department of Veterans Affairs when he crossed the yellow tape boundary and was asked to stop.
Leao, who said he is Portuguese and Angolan and became a US citizen through the military, said he complied with all commands and that the Marines apparently mistook him for a protester when he simply had business with the Veterans Administration office inside the building.
“They treated me very fairly,” Leao said, adding that he was told, “Understand, this is a whole stressful situation for everybody, and we all have a job.”
The last time the military was used for direct police action was in 1992, when the California governor at the time asked then-president George HW Bush to invoke the Insurrection Act to help respond to Los Angeles riots over the acquittal of police officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King.
The Marines and National Guard deployed in Los Angeles are assigned to protect federal property and personnel and may temporarily detain people, but they are required to turn them over to civilian law enforcement for any formal arrest.
Trump’s use of the National Guard was allowed to continue, at least for now, after a federal appeal on Thursday paused a lower court ruling to return control of the California National Guard to Governor Gavin Newsom. The appeals court ruling does not mean it will ultimately side with Trump, as the matter is scheduled for another hearing next week.
The Trump administration “far overreached its authority,” the California Attorney General’s office said, adding that it remained confident in its case ahead of making arguments to court on Tuesday.
Democrats, including Newsom, have said the use of military force was unnecessary and an example of Trump’s authoritarianism. Los Angeles and other local officials have also opposed the recent ramp-up of federal immigration enforcement.