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Meanwhile, both men have been placed on barracks restriction while their commanding officers also investigate, according to Gunnery Sgt. Chad McMeen, a spokesman at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, where the two are stationed.
The two Marines have received death threats via Facebook, according to McMeen.
"I can only hope that the truth will come out in the end," said McMeen, urging people not to jump to conclusions. "The more investigation into the incident, the better."
The pair were arrested early Saturday in downtown Savannah on a misdemeanor charges of battery after they allegedly attacked a gay man who might have winked at them.
The Beaufort Gazette and The Island Packet typically do not name people charged with misdemeanors. The Marines are assigned to two different fighter attack squadrons at the base, McMeen said. One of the men is a lance corporaland the other a corporal, he said.
FBI spokesman Steve Emmett said Monday the agency is looking into the case along with federal prosecutors.
Georgia hasn't had a hate crimes law since 2004, when the state Supreme Court struck down a 1999 statute on grounds that it was too vague.
The incident in Savannah occurred at about 3:45 a.m. near the intersection of Congress and Bull streets, according to the Savannah-Chatham Metro Police Department.
Witnesses told police the man had been "knocked out" by two white men matching the description of the Marines, according to a department report.
When police questioned the Marines, they said they "were being harassed by a white homosexual male earlier in the evening and just wanted to get away," the report said. The accused men told military investigators "they were subject to unwanted verbal advances, that they were closely followed, and that a threat was communicated" by the Savannah man or one of his friends, according to a MCAS Beaufort news release Monday.
"Although this certainly does not justify the actions of the Marine who punched the individual, it is important for us to consider both sides of the story," Col. David Robinson, the men's local group commanding officer, said in the release.
Witnesses said the two men were the aggressors in the incident, according to the police report.The injured Savannah man was taken by ambulance to Memorial University Medical Center, according to the report. Information about his condition was not available Monday, but he granted interviews to several media outlets.
The Marines were taken to the Chatham County Jail. Their bond was set at $1,850 and they were released from the jail later Saturday to the military, according to the jail log.If military investigators deem the crime serious or if the charges in Georgia are elevated, the two also could face court martial, McMeen said.
"The U.S. Marine Corps does not tolerate discrimination or violence of any kind between military members and the citizens we defend," Robinson said in the release. "Military authorities and civilian agencies are cooperating. As the investigations shed more light onto the situation, the appropriate actions will be taken regarding the uniformed service members' involvement and if it is determined that civil or criminal laws were broken, the individuals will be held fully accountable."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
