Prince William County police have charged Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, of Stafford, Virginia, with using a sledgehammer to destroy the Iwo Jima memorial statue near Marine Corps Base Quantico. The department said the attack, which included knocking the head off one of the depicted soldiers, caused damage estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Quantico monument, created by sculptor Felix de Weldon, commemorates the flag raising at the Battle of Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945. The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation describes it as a tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the Marine Corps that has stood for generations.
According to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Soriano is a Mexican national who entered the United States illegally in 1999. He was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status under the Obama administration in 2014, and that status was later renewed under the Biden administration. His DACA protections have since lapsed, and a renewal request was denied on Oct. 23, federal officials said.
Soriano faces felony charges of destruction of property, trespassing with intent to damage property, and felony injury to a monument. Prince William County Circuit Court Chief Judge Petula Metzler granted him bond of $2,500 on Monday, according to a local ABC affiliate.
Several national outlets reported on the arrest without initially mentioning Soriano’s immigration history. A Washington Post headline published Oct. 22 identified him only as a “Virginia man,” as did headlines from People magazine, Military Times, and Stars and Stripes. CNN and Stars and Stripes later updated their articles to include details of Soriano’s past DACA status, though their headlines were unchanged as of publication.
