Mar-a-Lago is Florida’s most famous crime scene. Why were uniformed U.S. Marines there?

There has been some grumbling over the appearance of a uniformed Marine Corps honor guard at a fundraising event at Mar-a-Lago last week.

I can understand some people’s concerns. After all, Mar-a-Lago is Florida’s most famous crime scene. And you’d think if the U.S. Marines were called there, it wouldn’t be an honor guard decked out in their dress blues.

It would more likely be a camouflaged expeditionary force sent on a deep reconnaissance mission to dig up any of the nation’s top secrets that the still-at-large insurrectionist Donald Trump may yet be hiding there.

Semper Find!

The discussion of the uniformed Marines appearing at Mar-a-Lago has centered around a photo of the less-than-stone-faced honor unit posing with three statuesque, heavily processed women, the kind that seem to grow like mushrooms inside of the Mar-a-Lago terrarium.

And the Marines seem to be enjoying the mission. One guy is even hanging on to his crotch-level flag holder tube for dear life.

The image was first highlighted by Ron Filipkowski, a former Marine and federal prosecutor who runs the MeidasTouch Network, a liberal online website.

The image has since gone viral.

“Looks like Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion,” actress Mia Farrow posted, “but WHY are the Marines allowed to pose there?”

Many people assumed that those four guys must have been cosplay actors posing as Marines. But that was dispelled on Sunday when the U.S. Marine Corps weighed in on its official social media account.

The four Marines were reservists participating in a sanctioned color guard and static display that had been requested by a veteran’s charity group and approved, the post said.

“The request was reviewed by Marine Forces Reserve Community Relations and deemed eligible for support,” the Marines statement said. “The event was open to the public and helped raise awareness about military and veteran suicides. The event was neither a political fundraiser, nor was the 45th President of the United States in attendance.”

The event was billed as “The America First Gala,” a $750-per-ticket event that raised money for a Boca Raton-based armed services charity called Grey Team.

Grey Team’s site lists its annual gala in Boca Raton, not at Mar-a-Lago, and a week before the Mar-a-Lago event.

The Boca Raton gala on April 4 featured a chance to go shooting with former Army Lt. Col. Alan West, a one-term Palm Beach County congressman and former Republican Party Chairman of Texas, who now sells his signature AR-15-style rifles for $2,199 online.

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The Mar-a-Lago event on April 11 auctioned off an autographed portrait of Trump with the suggested starting bid at $10,000.

“Bid now to own this extraordinary piece of art that not only captures the eye but also sparks conversation and admiration. Don't miss this opportunity to add a Trump-signed original art to your collection!” the posting for it said.

The special speaker for the Mar-a-Lago event was KT McFarland, who briefly served as Trump’s deputy National Security Advisor under Gen. Michael Flynn.

Trump hired McFarland from her job as a Fox News commentator. Her tenure in the Trump administration was abbreviated due to her participation with Flynn, who held secret talks with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and then lied to the FBI about it.

Trump later nominated McFarland to be the U.S. ambassador to Singapore but her confirmation was rejected in the U.S. Senate over her varying explanations about her Russia contacts with Flynn.

Sounds pretty political. And U.S. service members are prohibited from speaking at political events or appearing in uniform at them.

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But Cary Reichbach, an Army veteran who runs the Grey Team charity, said there's nothing political about his charitable organization or its fundraising events.

“Our annual gala takes place in Boca Raton,” he said. “But we were approached to be the charity recipient for the America First gala this year."

All the proceeds go to the veterans, Reichbach said. He estimated that the Mar-a-Lago event netted as much as $300,000 to the charity.

“If somebody wants to write a check to save veterans' lives, we want to participate in it,” he said.

Reichbach said he got permission to use that same Marine Corps color guard for both the event at The Boca Raton resort venue and the following week at Mar-a-Lago.

“We have to have galas somewhere,” he said. “Every venue is owned by someone. It’s just another venue.”

Frank Cerabino is a news columnist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the Gannett Newspapers chain.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Do uniformed Marines at Trump's Mar-a-Lago cross a political line?