A video showing a chaotic brawl between US Marines and civilians at the Voodoo Room nightclub in Austin, Texas, has gone viral on social media.
The footage captures a heated verbal exchange on Sixth Street, where a woman snatched a phone from one of the Marines and hurled it to the ground. Soon after, a man in a white hoodie was seen aggressively lunging at a Marine, prompting others to intervene and prevent escalation.
The situation intensified when the man attempted to throw punches at one of the uniformed men, leading to a fistfight between the two groups. They then broke up into smaller groups and continued to deal blows to each other. One civilian delivered a punch to a Marine’s jaw, throwing him to the ground where two others continued to retaliate by hitting him.
A swift intervention followed, with Austin Police officers and Texas Department of Public Safety officials, wearing cowboy hats, stepping in to separate the brawlers. During this intervention, one civilian appeared to be getting arrested while lying face down. The exact cause of the scene is still unknown, but the dramatic scenes were captured on camera before they circulated on the Internet.
A user said, “You have to be extremely intelligent to start a fight with an entire unit of marines.”
“Why is it always that the first guy to throw the first punch is the first one to run away?” someone else mocked.
“Very bright idea to fight a marine that knows how to fight and goes through tough training,” another comment read.
The number of arrests remains unclear. Sixth Street, known for its array of bars and nightclubs, has been a popular tourist destination in Austin. However, the area has also faced challenges related to safety concerns and occasional rowdy behaviour.