Blue-clad Marines who fought with civilians in Texas bar district face no punishment

A group of blue-clad Marines filmed fighting with civilians outside a nightclub in Austin, Texas’ bustling entertainment district, currently faces no sanctions, according to the service.

A video posted to YouTube shows a confrontation that quickly escalated between a group of men and uniformed Marines among the crowd in Austin’s bustling 6th Street bar and club district. The Austin Police Department told Military.com it happened around 1:53 a.m. local time in the 400 block of the street.

A woman can be seen throwing one of the Marines’ phones, and then a man in a white hooded sweatshirt confronts one of the uniformed soldiers. About four civilians and almost twice as many Marines start shoving each other, and then both sides start throwing punches and blows at each other.

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A Marine is shown punching a man who trips and falls to the ground in the middle of the street. About 30 seconds after the fight began, Texas Department of Public Safety and Austin police officers quickly rushed to break up the altercation.

A civilian was tackled to the ground and handcuffed in the video, but no individual was arrested, according to an email from the Austin Police Department.

Watch the video HERE

“The scene was initially attended by Texas Department of Safety (DPS) officers, who were immediately joined by APD officers,” the department said in an email. “Officers successfully intervened and broke up the fighting. Two individuals were briefly detained but were later released without further incident. No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.”

2nd Lt. Sean Cloherty, Marine Forces Reserve spokesman, told Military.com that the uniformed Marines were from Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines, 4th Marine Division. He added that they are not subject to any disciplinary or administrative measures.

“No Marines have been hospitalized or taken into custody,” Cloherty said. “While the command is informally reviewing the situation and all Marines are accounted for, no formal action is being taken at this time.”

A similar incident occurred in May, according to NBC 7 in San Diego. A group of a dozen to two dozen teenagers was seen in a video posted online beating at least two Marines during a melee near the San Clemente Pier in California.

Four boys and a girl were charged with assault with a deadly weapon, NBC 7 reported. The Marines were treated at the scene for minor injuries, but they refused to go to the hospital.

— Thomas Novelly can be contacted at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

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