MARINE CORPS: Our Guys Felt Threatened And Were Followed

This weekend a gay man in Savannah, Georgia was beaten by two U.S. Marines, who were then arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault. Yesterday a spokesperson from the USMC claimed that their tough guys had felt threatened before the attack.

From a preliminary internal investigation the Marines in question stated they were subject to unwanted verbal advances, that they were closely followed, and that a threat was communicated by a member of the other party. Col David Robinson, Commanding Officer, MAG-31 stated “Although this certainly does not justify the actions of the Marine who punched the individual, it is important for us to consider both sides of the story. As with most incidents there are multiple perspectives, accounts and recollections. The facts of this isolated incident will come out through investigations by civilian and military authorities. Although the initial reports from the arresting officer and the media coverage of the incident are widely disparate, we are committed to resolving the inconsistencies between the reports."

The two Marines are presently restricted to their base while the investigation continues.

UPDATE: Towleroad reports that the FBI is looking into the attack as a possible hate crime.