U.S. Marines arrive in Los Angeles, temporarily detain Army veteran

Hours after their highly anticipated arrival in Los Angeles, U.S. Marines were seen detaining a man next to the Federal Building in Westwood on Friday evening.

According to the Associated Press, the man, self-identified as Army veteran Marcos Leao, was wearing headphones when he walked onto the guarded property, not hearing the troops’ commands.

The former Army combat engineer said he was on his way to Veterans Affairs when he noticed the Marines telling him to stop. “Of course, I complied when I crossed the first checkpoint, and they told me to get on the ground,” Leao told AP’s crew.

“This is weird,” Leao said about the encounter. “I became a [U.S.] citizen actually through the military.”

Leao noted that although what happened was “annoying,” he understood why he was detained, remained compliant and was released without any problems. “There was nothing wrong, it’s just procedure,” said Leao. “This is the Federal Building, so I understand that anything that happens here can actually get federal accusations.”

“They took me fairly, and I communicated with them and let them know what’s going on,” said Leao. “[They said] ‘Understand this is a whole stressful situation for everybody, and we all have a job to do, so the more you’re okay with this and following orders, the more this is gonna be okay and you can just walk away,’ and that’s all it was.”

A few hours earlier, Sky5 was overhead at the Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard and Veteran Avenue, where KTLA’s Gil Leyvas reported seeing a group of Marines stationed outside and patrolling the complex.

“The Marines are here, and they are around the building itself,” Leyvas reported. “It looks like they’ll be here for a while, but they are here to serve and protect the property, the Federal Building here in the Westwood area.”

While the Marines’ deployment has caused much controversy among government officials, with most local leaders calling on the Trump administration to defederalize the National Guard, the man detained on Friday said that what happened to him could serve as a reminder for those who may face federal troops over the weekend.

“It reminds you to take a big compliance with everything that they say,” Leao said about interacting with the Marines.