U.S. Marine’s standing guard at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia recently stopped a pair of foreign nationals from running through their security gate and driving onto the military installation.
In an emailed statement to American Military News, Marine Corps spokesman Kyle Olson said base sentries stopped the two foreign nationals after they approached the base’s Fuller Road Gate on May 3.
“When asked, the operator of the truck informed the military police officers they worked for a company subcontracted by Amazon and were making a delivery to the U.S. Post Office located in the Town of Quantico,” Olson said. “Due to the occupants of the vehicle having no affiliation to the Marine Corps Base Quantico and no approved credentials to access the installation, the military police officers directed the vehicle to a holding area while they conducted standard access control vetting procedures.”
Olson said while Marine base sentries ordered the truck to turn around, the driver of the truck ignored the orders and attempted to keep driving through.
“Due to the swift response and execution of their duties, the officers were able to deploy the vehicle denial barriers, prevent any further access to Marine Corps Base Quantico, and detain the individuals who were eventually turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody,” Olson continued.
In a separate emailed statement, an ICE spokesman told American Military News that the Marine Corps base officials notified ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) office in Washington, D.C. of the incident.
“Marine Corps Base authorities notified ERO Washington, D.C. of the apprehensions,” the ICE spokesman said. “Deportation officers from ERO Washington, D.C.’s Criminal Apprehension Program responded and arrested both individuals without incident. Both individuals will remain in ERO custody pending removal proceedings.
The ICE spokesman identified the two detainees as Jordanian nationals.
Potomac Local News, which first reported the attempted breach, reported that multiple unidentified sources overheard conversations alleging at least one of the Jordanian nationals who was arrested had recently crossed the U.S. southern border and was on a terrorism watch list.
An ICE official, speaking on background, said the agency has no reason at this time to believe either of the two suspects are connected to terrorism.
Marine Corps Base Quantico is host to a number of key Marine Corps functions, including it’s Officer Candidate School (OCS), and Marine Corps University, and the Marine Corps Combat Development Command. The base also hosts the FBI’s training academy is also located on the Marine Base.
