The National Guard member thought the bus was carrying migrants.
The driver and senior citizens were confronted by him.
The governor sent 50 migrants to the island.
The Cape Cod Times reported that an off-duty Massachusetts Army National Guard member mistook a group of senior citizens for migrants and confronted them.
The incident came on the heels of a political stunt by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to send 50 migrants to Martha's Vineyard. The governor said that the migrants have been moved to a military base shelter.
The bus driver and 37 senior citizens were confronted by the off-duty service member after he pursued the bus for 10 miles.
The owner of a transportation company said that he thought there were immigrants on the bus. He was completely incorrect.
The service member was so close to the vehicle that he was five feet off the bumper.
The Cape Cod Times obtained the video from the service member's Facebook page. The footage is no longer on the social media platform.
He is heard saying "look at this" in the video. There is a city in Florida. There is a bus load. This is something to look at. I'm following it from start to finish. You're going to have the border at your place.
He said he would follow it over the bridge. I was supposed to turn it off and go back to my house.
There is a police department in the town. Christopher Bartolomei wrote in a police report that it looked like the service member was acting strange.
According to the report, he tried to control the conversation and talked about trying to get someone from Afghanistan to the US. He made it sound like he was connected to the migrants on the base.
The representative with the police department didn't reply immediately.
The National Guard considers the conduct of this soldier to be inappropriate and inconsistent with military values, according to a statement from Col. Mark Kalin.
Kalin said that they are currently working to ensure that their service member is evaluated and gets any services he may need. There is no further information at this time.
The video was seen by the Cape Cod Times.
The service member said he had the right to see what was happening. You're aware of what I'm talking about.
He told the service member that the bus was carrying elderly people. You will cause a heart attack.
The service member said he would walk away if it was 80 years old. What's going on on Martha's Vineyard?
"Don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about," he told the passengers as he boarded the bus.
The service member apologized and left the vehicle after he realized the passengers were tourists. I didn't like you. I would like to apologize.
The incident took place in the hotel parking lot.
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