Man accused of beheading Iwo Jima statue in Virginia with sledgehammer
By Diego Mendoza Diaz, Rebekah Riess, CNN
(CNN) — The Battle of Iwo Jima monument in Quantico, Virginia, has suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage after a man beheaded one of the statues Wednesday evening, police said.
Officers responding to a report of destruction of property at Marine Corps Base Quantico around 10:31 p.m. saw a man “actively damaging the statue with a sledgehammer” and detained him without incident, Prince William County police said last week.
According to a court document released Monday, police reported seeing a man atop the monument “attempting to remove the American flag.”
The suspect, 27-year-old Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano of Stafford, Virginia, has been charged with felony destruction of property, trespass with intent to damage, and felony injury to a monument, court records show.
Maldonado Soriano was granted a $2,500 secured bond at a hearing Monday, according to court documents. It was not immediately clear whether he entered a plea. If released on bond, he must wear a GPS tracking device, undergo alcohol and drug testing and remain in Virginia, the documents said. He must also complete a mental health evaluation and follow any recommended treatment.
CNN reached out to Maldonado Soriano’s attorney listed in court records for comment.
Maldonado Soriano, a Mexican national, has been in the US since 1999, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“He was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status during the Obama administration but it has since expired,” the agency said in a statement.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a detainer for Maldonado Soriano, DHS said Monday, meaning the agency could detain him if he makes bond.
Maldonado Soriano’s motive for vandalizing the monument remains unclear, authorities previously said, although a new court document Monday said he told police “he had been told to do so” when questioned about his actions.
“As far as a motive, the accused has given us multiple, conflicting reasons,” Sgt. Erin Noble, with Prince William County police, previously said.
The damaged monument — located about 36 miles south of Washington, DC— is a smaller replica of sculptor Felix de Weldon’s Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, and it depicts the iconic photo captured by photojournalist Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945, showing six US Marines raising an American flag on Japan’s Iwo Jima Island during World War II.
De Weldon carved the statue from limestone, and Marine Corps Base Quantico describes it as a “non-heroic-size” replica of the 60-foot bronze original in Arlington.
While on duty in the Navy, de Weldon began working on the statue in 1945 after seeing Rosenthal’s photo, and he completed the smaller limestone version for Quantico before the end of the year, according to the Marines. Arlington’s larger version was not completed until 1954.
There is no timeline for repairs, police said.
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CNN’s Chris Boyette and Taylor Romine contributed to this report
