If clothes make the man, the wrong clothes can unmake a “Marine.”
An alleged former Marine, with the bravado to spout in Spanish while threatening to “bust” the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Southern California, is creating a viral social media moment for all the wrong reasons.
And many of them have to do with the “uniform” he put on for the occasion.
The man claiming to be a Marine gives no description of his unit or time of service, but he does manage to draw attention to himself by wearing a cap that divided online users about which branch of the service it belonged to.
Some said the Army. Some said the Air Force. But no one argued it was the Marines.
Check it out here:
He’s wearing an Army cover. Lol
— Greg 🚀 (@greg_blaire) August 18, 2025
1. that is not a USMC cover. It is a US Army cover.
2. The wings on his vest aren’t USMC issue either.— The Marine Master Sergeant Ret. (@Kalor1965) August 18, 2025
“Says he is a marine, wears a Air Force patrol cap,” wrote another user.
Says he is a marine, wears a Air Force patrol cap.
— Theron Alvord (@TheronAlvord) August 19, 2025
And then there’s the language issue.
The man hyperventilated about how a band of 25 Marines was on hand in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, ready to oppose ICE efforts to rid the country of illegal immigrants.
There’s no doubt that many, many Marines speak Spanish. But there’s also no doubt that pretty much anyone who serves in the Marines, or anywhere else in the U.S. military, is not only fairly competent in English, but is pretty well aware that English, rather than Spanish, is the operating language of the United States. And that very much includes ICE agents.
So, if a Marine — or anyone else — was truly interested in sending a message to ICE or other law enforcement agencies involved in President Donald Trump’s cleanup of the Biden illegal immigration disaster, he would be broadcasting it loud and clear — in English.
All of that leads to plenty of doubt about whether a Marine was actually involved in the making of this video — much less whether there really are 25 other “Marines” patrolling the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County looking for ICE agents to harass, as the supposed “Marine” claimed.
And there was plenty of doubt on social media, where the video had racked up millions of views:
I’m no Marine, but I know a few, and none of them would be caught dead wearing an Army PC.
— Seán Gatton (@SeanGatton) August 19, 2025
AF cover with 1 Lt rank…pretty sure that’s not a marine.
— Ben_Tallmadge (@MajorJames46) August 18, 2025
These aren’t Marines. They are playing dress up.
— mrleck77 (@mrleck771) August 19, 2025
Laughable
— NEW ALGORITHM TAKE NOTE-Life is beautiful (@mpceddington) August 19, 2025
The actual source of the video is unclear. The X accounts attributed it to an unidentified TikTok user, and at least one TikTok account posted it, but there was no explanation of its backstory.
Also unclear is its intended effect. ICE agents and other law enforcement agencies dealing with illegal immigration routinely deal with much harsher opponents than big-talking hispanophones in badly matched Halloween costumes.
They’re not going to be intimidated by Señor Weasel here.
Once he’s detained, should authorities put him in a civilian jail or drop him off at a bar where real Marines hang out?
As the social media reaction showed, pro-crackdown, pro-Trump Americans are going to be some combination of contemptuous and furious. Definitely not intimidated.
So, who exactly was this moment made for, and what is really the background of this supposed “Marine” who’s threatening agents of the federal government with what sounds an awful lot like armed opposition?
That’s likely to come out before long, but one thing is clear. Whoever is behind it needs a better costume department.
The clothes didn’t make this Marine at all.
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