Mexican national charged with smashing Iwo Jima Memorial with sledgehammer

A Mexican national living in Virginia has been charged with attacking the Iwo Jima Memorial at Quantico with a sledgehammer, according to federal prosecutors. The damage included the removal of a Marine statue’s head and several rifle barrels.

Prince William County police found Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, of Stafford, damaging the monument at about 10:15 p.m. last Wednesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. The memorial stands at Joplin Road and U.S. Highway 1, near the entrance to Marine Corps Base Quantico.

The suspect immediately climbed down from the statue and surrendered without resistance, according to an affidavit from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Officers took him to Garfield Police Station in Woodbridge for questioning.

During the interview, the suspect admitted damaging the memorial. He told a detective he had retrieved the sledgehammer from his vehicle, where he kept it for his construction work.

A witness who called police also recorded video showing the suspect damaging the monument and provided it to investigators, according to the affidavit.

Authorities said one statue’s head was completely detached, multiple rifle barrels were removed and other parts of the memorial were defaced or disfigured. Photographs included in the affidavit show the detached head lying on grass and damage to the sculpted figures and weapons.

The suspect remains in state custody, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said Monday. Upon transfer to federal custody, he faces charges of willfully damaging federal property and willfully damaging or destroying a monument commemorating military service.

Prosecutors said he faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The affidavit did not identify a motive for the attack.

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Ella Greene

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