Video: Man picks a fight with a Marine and spits in his face

The Marine whose name we have chosen to keep anonymous, posted about the video stating:

“This was this past weekend at Rock on the Range. This guy walked up and spit in my face and another Marines face. He was hanging around saying some messed up things about the military to all the Marines there. This all happened and more before the filming even began. Dude almost got his ass kicked. A big thanks to Columbus P.D and Ohio Highway patrol for assisting.”

USMC Life reached out to find out more about the story, here’s what we learned from the woman who shot the video. 

It all started when the man on the video walked up to the Marines and began yelling, “How much do you get paid to kill people?” He didn’t stop there and went on saying that the military only kills for corporations and asking them how many people they’ve murdered.

At this point I didn’t think much of it, sometimes people come up and yell at recruiters and disagree with certain aspects of the military or the government. But when he walked over to the MSgt and got close to him and began cursing at him, I realized I needed to start recording the situation in case something physical happened.

I knew the Marines were disciplined and would only act out of self-defense, but I still wanted to ensure that I had evidence of this guy touching them first. The situation seemed to be escalating quickly and I thought he may take a swing at one of the Marines. The last thing anyone needed was some guy crying that he did nothing wrong and some “crazy” Marine hit him, and there goes a good Marine’s career, so I made sure to get it on camera.

My husband was standing next to me as I recorded the scene. He walked over and let the cops know that this guy was getting out of control and they showed up just as it started escalating. The cops there were really great; one even came back and stood with us for a while just in case the guy came back looking for a fight and continued to check on us throughout the day.

I think it’s also important to point out that even though this guy was awful, there are always hundreds of people taking the time to shake these Marine’s hands and thank them for their service.

Even though this guy was loud at first, no one was really bothered by it because they knew it was just another person voicing their opinion. These recruiters encounter people like that on an almost daily basis during their 14+ hour days, 6 days a week, of nonstop stress and dealing with young adults, high schools, parents, teachers, events, etc. This job has opened them up to people and opinions that those living on or near a base probably will not experience face-to-face with people nearly as much.

But once this guy started getting gutsy and in everyone’s face, spitting and cursing, I can’t imagine how angry those guys were hearing and seeing those things. But you sure wouldn’t have noticed; they were calm and collected the entire time. I mean, I’m just a spouse, and even I was shaking with anger, and my heart was pumping a mile a minute.

Working in the mental health field, I’ve sat with men and women and listened to the things they have gone through during their service, what my husband and close friends have gone through, friends they have lost, and even my own family members that have served and sacrificed.

To know that those experiences were literally and figuratively spit on and counted as nothing in his mind absolutely broke my heart and made me furious. Have your own opinion, but don’t disrespect people in that way. It seemed like my husband and the other guys brushed the situation off soon after it was over and got right back to work. They didn’t let it visibly phase them, but of course it impacted them. Especially the Marine that was spit on, I can’t even imagine what was going through his mind.

People may disagree with the government, the military, or even the troops, but it is undeniable that these men in the video have answered a calling to be a part of something bigger than themselves by joining the Marine Corps. They’ve gone through things that take serious courage; more courage than walking up to a perfect stranger and spitting in their face. What a coward. No one deserves to be treated the way these Marines were.

But it is because of the exemplary training, discipline, and ability to stay collected under pressure that you will only find in the Marine Corps, that these men could listen to his ridiculous words and actions and control the urge to make him feel physical pain.

It took more of a man to show restraint than to stoop to that guy’s level. These are Marines, they’ve faced much more than this little coward yapping his mouth and acting tough. I also think this guy found out pretty quickly that if you mess with one of them you will have a whole crew to mess with behind him. No better friend, no worse enemy.

A Marine wife and witness had this to say,

“After watching a guy walk up unprovoked and spit in a Marine friend’s face today, call them murderers, and demean them for defending our freedoms, my heart broke. If only people knew the sacrifices these guys have made to defend your right to do such terrible things. There will always be those people, and we’ve dealt with them before many times, but it’s still so frustrating. Man did those guys keep their cool, especially since this was going on for quite a bit before I started filming. I’m not sure I would have picked this group of men to mess with.”