What Happened A group of Marines traded punches with civilians in Austin, Texas’ entertainment district in a wild caught-on-camera street brawl witnessed by dozens of revelers. The video, apparently captured Sunday night, showed the melee broke out after a young woman appeared to grab a phone from a Marine and toss it away during a verbal confrontation on Sixth Street.
One young man in a white hoodie then lunged toward a Marine before he’s stopped by others all wearing their dress blue uniforms, the footage showed. For a few seconds, several Marines jawed back and forth with the young man and couple of his friends – with a little shoving involved — before the man in the white hoodie appeared to throw the first punch. Chaos then ensued as at least a couple of fights between the different groups erupted.
**One civilian, in jeans and a t-shirt, landed a couple punches to the face of one Marine who then connected one of his punches to the man’s jaw, causing him to stumble backwards, the video showed.Another Marine then burst onto the scene and went after the same civilian who fell to the ground.
Moments after, Texas Department of Public Safety and Austin police officers intervened as they pulled apart the brawlers. One of officers appeared to arrest a civilian as he lied face down, the footage showed. Another partier who didn’t appear to be part of the fracas chanted U-S-A while authorities regained control of the frantic scene. Other officers on horseback also responded.
Investigation The state’s Department of Public Safety referred questions to Austin police, who did not immediately respond to an email seeking more information. It’s unclear what led to the mayhem or how many people were arrested.
Background Sixth Street — lined by bars and nightclubs — has long been a tourist draw for Austin, but has also been plagued by safety problems and rowdy behavior. A shooting left one person dead and 13 injured in 2021, according to local reports.
