The July mass arrest of 15 Camp Pendleton Marines in front of their 800-person battalion may have violated their rights and threatens to upend the case, attorneys for two of the accused told the Union-Tribune.

On the morning of July 25, as 800 Marines stood in formation at the Camp San Mateo area of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, 24 Marines’ names were called.

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Fifteen were ordered to stand in a line in front of the battalion “to be recognized,” according to court filings in the case. The battalion sergeant major stood nearby, carrying a red folder that usually is associated with awards.


But these men weren’t awarded. The regiment sergeant major, Sgt. Major Matthew A. Dorsey pointed to the Marines in front and said, “NCIS, arrest these Marines.”

About 40 or so Naval Criminal Investigative Service and other military law agents swarmed toward the line of men, coming from behind and the sides. They handcuffed and searched the men before parading them, one-by-one, in front of their peers.

In this video screenshot, the battalion sergeant major for 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment , Sgt. Major Matthew Dorsey, points at a line of 15 Marines as he instructs waiting NCIS agents to arrest them. (Screenshot/ U.S. Marine Corps)

In total, 13 Marines were charged with human smuggling and conspiracy, and eight more were taken away for questioning. Those eight, who were said at the time to be suspects in an unspecified drug activity, were escorted off but not charged.


The arrests became national news.

The Marine Corps filmed the whole thing.

That video and the public way the arrests were handled are why two attorneys, each representing one of the Marines, are publicly criticizing the arrests. One of the attorneys filed a defense motion Friday saying the public arrests tainted the jury pool in any potential trial.

Bethany Payton-O’Brien, the attorney, wrote that the public nature of the arrests and the decision to film them amount to “unlawful command influence” and illegal pretrial punishment. Unlawful command influence is when military commanders use their authority to influence the outcome of a case.


In her motion her client, a Marine corporal, said he heard either Dorsey or the battalion commanding officer, Lt. Col. Eric M. Olson, tell the assembled Marines that the arrests are “what happens when you break the law.”

A spokesman for the 1st Marine Division, 1st Lt. Cameron Edinburgh, told the Union-Tribune on Tuesday that the video came from the division’s communication strategy office, which serves in a public affairs capacity for the division.

The decision to film the arrests by Marine public relations did not come from division commanders, Edinburgh said.

“It was something we felt should be done for proper visibility,” Edinburgh said.


Military law enforcement, including NCIS, handcuff, search and walk detained Marines in front of their peers at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. (Screenshot/ U.S. Marine Corps)

In the video, Olson addresses the battalion once the arrested Marines are hauled off. The audio is difficult to hear at some points, but Olson says “what you just saw ... these Marines are a distraction to leadership and readiness.”

Olson also tells the Marines that those arrested will be held accountable.

These comments, according to Payton-O’Brien, violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice.


“The government’s actions in this battalion formation arrest and their post-arrest comments to the battalion are wholly unacceptable and inappropriate,” she said.

The Marines released charge sheets for 13 Marines on Tuesday but redacted the names of the accused. Each of the Marines is being tried separately, Edinburgh said.

Because the names of those Marines have not been released, the Union-Tribune is withholding the name of Payton-O’Brien’s client.

The names of two Marines, Lance Corporals Byron Darnell Law II and David Javier Salazar-Quintero, were made public after the two were arrested by Border Patrol for allegedly picking up unauthorized immigrants on July 3.


Those arrests led to the July 25 action, the Marine Corps said at the time.

After the July arrests, the Marines released a statement to the news media announcing the arrests, and Marine public affairs officers provided statements to several news outlets, including the Union-Tribune.

“1st Marine Division is committed to justice and the rule of law, and we will continue to fully cooperate with NCIS on this matter,” the Marine Corps said in the July 25 statement.

Division officials also told the Union-Tribune that the public nature of the arrests was intentional.


Edinburgh told the Orange County Register that the arrests were an “eye-opening thing for the battalion.... It had a shock and awe factor. The command wanted to send a message to make clear this type of behavior is not tolerated.”

According to the defense motion, those statements reveal that the purpose of the public arrests was to punish the accused before their trials and influence potential verdicts.

Maj. Kendra Motz speaks to the media outside the main gate of Camp Pendleton about the Marines arrested on human smuggling and drug-related allegations July 25, 2019. Photo by Charlie Neuman

Jeremiah Sullivan, another San Diego-based civilian defense attorney who represents one of the Marines, called the public arrests a circus.


“It is puzzling, but not surprising, why NCIS would coordinate such a circus,” Sullivan said in an email Tuesday. “The message they are sending is unlawful command influence. This was completely unnecessary and all for show.”

Sullivan said he has not yet seen the video.

Unlawful command influence is unique to the military justice system. If military commanders use their authority to influence the outcome of a case, it has the potential to upend the process.

In one of the most well-known examples of it, in 2018, a military appellate court threw out the rape conviction of a Navy SEAL, Senior Chief Keith E. Barry, after finding that the Navy’s top lawyer illegally meddled in the case.


Edinburgh declined to comment on the allegations in the motion.

Payton-O’Brien’s client has not yet appeared at a pre-trial hearing and is confined to the Camp Pendleton brig where he has been since his arrest.