Former marine Brandon J. Raub has been detained for psychiatric testing . An ex-marine involuntarily detained for psychiatric questioning after posting anti-establishment messages on his Facebook page has sparked an outpouring of support from protestors who say the move is against his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Brandon J. Raub who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan was seized by authorities in Virginia’s Chesterfield County last Thursday for posting ‘ominous posts’ which refer to an upcoming revolution. According to Authorities one message put up by the 26-year-old earlier this month stated: 'Sharpen my axe; I'm here to sever heads.' After being questioned by secret . service agents and the FBI, Mr Raub received a short hearing, before being detained in custody for 30 days. Police . used a state law which allows emergency, temporary psychiatric . commitments upon the recommendation of a mental health professional to . hold Mr Raub at the John Randolph Medical Centre in Hopewell, although . he has not been charged with any crime. But there has been a public backlash to the move with protesters taking to the street outside the hospital and Virginia-based civil liberties group, The Rutherford Institute, sending an attorney to the hospital to represent Mr Raub. Rutherford executive director John Whitehead said: 'For government officials to not only arrest Brandon Raub for doing nothing more than exercising his First Amendment rights but to actually force him to undergo psychological evaluations and detain him against his will goes against every constitutional principle this country was founded upon.' Scroll down to see a video of Mr Raub being detained . This video grab shows the moment Mr Raub was taken in by officers for psychiatric questioning on Thursday night . The detainment of the former marine has sparked angry protests by civil rights campaigners who says it goes against the First Amendment . Thousands of people have joined a string of  Facebook pages in support of Mr Raub which have sprung up since his detainment. Speaking from the hospital yesterday Mr Raub said he was surprised by the turn of events. He added: ‘It’s ironic, I was considering re-enlisting, I’ve really enjoyed the six years I spent as a reserve and the two and a half years I spent on active duty. ‘I’ve been very open with the things I’ve had to say on my wall on Facebook. It’s interesting to me that the Government is watching Facebook in the first place. That ought to raise some eyebrows and cause some good American citizens some concern.’ A string of Facebook pages have been created in support of Mr Raub . Raub's mother, Cathleen Thomas, said by telephone that the government had overstepped its bounds. 'The bottom line is his freedom of speech has been violated,' she said. Thomas said her son, who served tours as a combat engineer in Iraq and Afghanistan, is 'concerned about all the wars we've experienced' and believes the U.S. government was complicit in the September 11 terrorist attacks. One of his Facebook posts, she said, pictured the gaping hole in the Pentagon and asked 'where's the plane?' Whitehead said he found nothing . alarming in Raub's social media commentaries. 'The posts I read that . supposedly were of concern were libertarian-type posts I see all the . time,' he said. The big . concern, Whitehead said, is whether government officials are monitoring . citizens' private Facebook pages and detaining people with whom they . disagree. Dee Rybiski, an FBI spokeswoman in Richmond, said there was no Facebook snooping by her agency. 'We received quite a few complaints about what were perceived as threatening posts,' she said. 'Given the circumstances with the things that have gone on in the country with some of these mass shootings, it would be horrible for law enforcement not to pay attention to complaints.' Campaigners have taken to the streets to protest against Mr Raub's detainment . Whitehead said some of the posts in question were made on a closed Facebook page that Raub had recently created so he questioned whether anyone from the public would have complained about them. 'Support Brandon Raub' Facebook pages have drawn significant interest, and other Internet sites had numerous comments from people outraged by the veteran's detention. Raub's supporters characterized the detention as an arrest, complaining he was handcuffed and whisked away in a police cruiser without being served a warrant or read his rights. But authorities say it wasn't an arrest because Raub doesn't face criminal charges. Colonel Thierry Dupuis, the county police chief, said Raub was taken into custody upon the recommendation of mental health crisis intervention workers. He said the action was taken under the state's emergency custody statute, which allows a magistrate to order the civil detention and psychiatric evaluation of a person who is considered potentially dangerous. He said Raub was handcuffed because he resisted officers' attempts to take him into custody.
Protestors take to the streets saying the move is against the First Amendment .
Civil Liberties group sends attorney into hospital to represent Brandon J. Raub .
Former marine Brandon J. Raub has been detained for psychiatric testing . An ex-marine involuntarily detained for psychiatric questioning after posting anti-establishment messages on his Facebook page has sparked an outpouring of support from protestors who say the move is against his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Brandon J. Raub who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan was seized by authorities in Virginia’s Chesterfield County last Thursday for posting ‘ominous posts’ which refer to an upcoming revolution. According to Authorities one message put up by the 26-year-old earlier this month stated: 'Sharpen my axe; I'm here to sever heads.' After being questioned by secret . service agents and the FBI, Mr Raub received a short hearing, before being detained in custody for 30 days. Police . used a state law which allows emergency, temporary psychiatric . commitments upon the recommendation of a mental health professional to . hold Mr Raub at the John Randolph Medical Centre in Hopewell, although . he has not been charged with any crime. But there has been a public backlash to the move with protesters taking to the street outside the hospital and Virginia-based civil liberties group, The Rutherford Institute, sending an attorney to the hospital to represent Mr Raub. Rutherford executive director John Whitehead said: 'For government officials to not only arrest Brandon Raub for doing nothing more than exercising his First Amendment rights but to actually force him to undergo psychological evaluations and detain him against his will goes against every constitutional principle this country was founded upon.' Scroll down to see a video of Mr Raub being detained . This video grab shows the moment Mr Raub was taken in by officers for psychiatric questioning on Thursday night . The detainment of the former marine has sparked angry protests by civil rights campaigners who says it goes against the First Amendment . Thousands of people have joined a string of Facebook pages in support of Mr Raub which have sprung up since his detainment. Speaking from the hospital yesterday Mr Raub said he was surprised by the turn of events. He added: ‘It’s ironic, I was considering re-enlisting, I’ve really enjoyed the six years I spent as a reserve and the two and a half years I spent on active duty. ‘I’ve been very open with the things I’ve had to say on my wall on Facebook. It’s interesting to me that the Government is watching Facebook in the first place. That ought to raise some eyebrows and cause some good American citizens some concern.’ A string of Facebook pages have been created in support of Mr Raub . Raub's mother, Cathleen Thomas, said by telephone that the government had overstepped its bounds. 'The bottom line is his freedom of speech has been violated,' she said. Thomas said her son, who served tours as a combat engineer in Iraq and Afghanistan, is 'concerned about all the wars we've experienced' and believes the U.S. government was complicit in the September 11 terrorist attacks. One of his Facebook posts, she said, pictured the gaping hole in the Pentagon and asked 'where's the plane?' Whitehead said he found nothing . alarming in Raub's social media commentaries. 'The posts I read that . supposedly were of concern were libertarian-type posts I see all the . time,' he said. The big . concern, Whitehead said, is whether government officials are monitoring . citizens' private Facebook pages and detaining people with whom they . disagree. Dee Rybiski, an FBI spokeswoman in Richmond, said there was no Facebook snooping by her agency. 'We received quite a few complaints about what were perceived as threatening posts,' she said. 'Given the circumstances with the things that have gone on in the country with some of these mass shootings, it would be horrible for law enforcement not to pay attention to complaints.' Campaigners have taken to the streets to protest against Mr Raub's detainment . Whitehead said some of the posts in question were made on a closed Facebook page that Raub had recently created so he questioned whether anyone from the public would have complained about them. 'Support Brandon Raub' Facebook pages have drawn significant interest, and other Internet sites had numerous comments from people outraged by the veteran's detention. Raub's supporters characterized the detention as an arrest, complaining he was handcuffed and whisked away in a police cruiser without being served a warrant or read his rights. But authorities say it wasn't an arrest because Raub doesn't face criminal charges. Colonel Thierry Dupuis, the county police chief, said Raub was taken into custody upon the recommendation of mental health crisis intervention workers. He said the action was taken under the state's emergency custody statute, which allows a magistrate to order the civil detention and psychiatric evaluation of a person who is considered potentially dangerous. He said Raub was handcuffed because he resisted officers' attempts to take him into custody.
Former marine Brandon J. Raub has been detained move is against his First Amendment right to attorney to the hospital to represent Mr Raub. says it goes against the First Amendment .