A Stafford County, Virginia man is being held without bond after he allegedly attacked the Iwo Jima monument near Marine Corps Base Quantico with a sledgehammer, according to Prince William County police.
Officers responded around 10:13 p.m. Wednesday to the statue near Richmond Highway and Fuller Road in Quantico. Police said they found a man “actively damaging the statue with a sledgehammer” and detained him on the scene.
The man was identified as 27-year-old Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano. Police said the damage included the removal of the head of one of the figures depicted in the statue. Authorities estimate damages in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Maldonado Soriano has been charged with felony destruction of property, trespass with intent to damage property, and felony injury to a monument. He is being held without bond.
Police have not released a motive for the alleged attack. Maldonado Soriano’s immigration status has not been disclosed by authorities as of this writing.
The monument depicts the raising of the American flag atop Mount Suribachi during the World War II battle of Iwo Jima, an event memorialized for its significance to the United States Marine Corps.
