A couple of weeks ago The Mango Inquirer first broke the news of two Marines involved in a 4am altercation with NT Police outside Monsoons, in a request for public information.
Today, a man faced court on a number of charges with a support person, surprising the media with no forewarning an international incident was afoot.
It's unclear if the men were part of a commando contingent that arrived in July for Exercise Predator's Run, but the pair were due to fly out at the end of Exercise Pitch Black, and the day after the incident.
Speaking on behalf of one man, a Darwin lawyer described how the 'Assault A Member Of The Police Force' did not entail striking, kicking nor punching of the officers.
Other charges faced by one of the mnn included 'Hinder A Member Of The Police Force' and 'Resist Police In Execution Of Duty'.
During a conversation with one of the marines inside the court house, the UK defence member requested NT News, Channel Nine and The Mango Inquirer not publish their names due to "the situation in Northern Ireland".
The Mango Inquirer advised I could fulfill that request on the names, but said photos and video outside the courtroom were another matter though.
Mango advised one of the men to just wear a hat and sunglasses coming out, but he said "no", and they would wait us out until 5pm.
It's since come to my attention the young men may be special forces, which casts a different perspective on the matter.
This was not disclosed by either men, but makes the request a little more reasonable.
During court proceedings, the judge said a CCO (community corrections order) "would be useless" and that "perhaps a fine" was more appropriate.
The man's defence lawyer said of his client: "He's normally the sobre bob of the unit."
In describing his client's apology letter, the lawyer said: "There's no weasel words, it's a genuine heart felt apology."
"He grabbed the police officer. There's no striking, no kicking."
Pepper-spray was deployed by NT Police to subdue the situation, with the incident lasting "a number of minutes".
The men will be departing Australia after today's proceedings, where it's expected one will face internal disciplinary action.
We are The Mango Inquirer.
