Is the U.S. Military Becoming a Domestic Police Force?

On June 14, during a protest in Los Angeles against immigration raids, a U.S. Army veteran named Marcos Leao was detained—not by local law enforcement, but by U.S. Marines.

Leao, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and headphones, was simply navigating around a federal building to pick up paperwork at the Department of Veterans Affairs. After mistakenly crossing a police tape barrier and complying with verbal instructions to return, Leao was zip-tied by Marines and held for nearly two hours before being turned over to LAPD. He was never charged with a crime.

This incident may sound isolated—but it’s not. It’s a symptom of a deeply troubling shift in the role of the military within U.S. borders.

A Violation of Law and Trust

The use of active-duty Marines in a civilian detention context violates the spirit—and possibly the letter—of the Posse Comitatus Act, which explicitly limits the use of federal military personnel in domestic law enforcement. Legal experts interviewed by Military.com are raising alarms: if the Marines detained Leao simply to keep him compliant until police arrived, this was more than property protection—it was law enforcement.

Dan Maurer, a retired Army JAG and law professor, put it succinctly: “If it’s zip-tying them so that they can more easily keep them docile… that looks like a temporary arrest.” In other words, a military occupation tactic is being misapplied to American streets.

A Growing Pattern of Militarization

This isn’t happening in a vacuum. Under the direction of President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the line between military and police is rapidly eroding. Active-duty troops have been deployed to U.S. cities to support immigration enforcement, including 2,000 Marines and National Guard troops currently stationed in Los Angeles.

Pilot programs have emerged linking the Department of Homeland Security with military bases, allowing ICE to operate in military zones. Service members are being encouraged to train with Border Patrol and ICE agents while still in uniform. These deployments are not about defense—they’re about deterrence, control, and political theater.

False Security at a Real Cost

Military deployments in domestic settings are often justified as a response to “chaos” or “insurrection,” yet many of the soldiers on the ground report doing nothing. Some are spending their time gaming or studying. These missions serve more as symbolic threats than substantive security measures, designed to project power rather than provide safety.

But the costs are real:

• Readiness declines when troops are pulled from training for vague domestic deployments.
• Morale suffers, as troops are forced into legally and ethically dubious situations.
• Recruitment may drop, as young people question the purpose of enlisting in a force increasingly used for domestic suppression rather than defense.

A Dangerous Precedent

The optics of Marines zip-tying civilians, National Guard troops standing by during ICE raids, and thousands of active-duty personnel supporting border militarization cannot be dismissed. These are not the signs of a healthy democracy—they are warning lights on the dashboard of civil liberties.

As one expert put it, we are entering “distinction-without-a-difference land.” To the public, it does not matter if the military is “detaining” instead of “arresting.” What matters is that American streets are starting to look like occupied territory.

We Need a Peace Economy—Not a Permanent War Posture

At the Peace Economy Project, we believe this moment calls for vigilance, advocacy, and a re-centering of our values. True security comes not from soldiers on sidewalks or armored vehicles near courthouses, but from robust public services, equitable justice systems, and diplomacy over domination.

Veterans like Marcos Leao fought for democratic freedoms. To see them detained by their own military is not only ironic—it is a clarion call.

We must resist this creeping normalization of military force in civilian life. It’s time to demilitarize our policies, our borders, and our imaginations—and invest in peace.