Iwo Jima statue decapitated in Quantico
Fox News senior national correspondent Kevin Corke reports on the alleged decapitation of an Iwo Jima monument statue in Quantico, Virginia, by a 27-year-old man on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’
The man accused of using a sledgehammer to remove the head of a Marine figure from an Iwo Jima monument near Quantico was granted bond Monday morning.
Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, received bond in Prince William County Circuit Court. A date for his next hearing is expected to be set soon.
Maldonado Soriano, described as a Mexican illegal alien and former Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, faces charges of felony destruction of property, trespassing with the intent to damage property and felony injury to a monument.
The suspect accused of using a sledgehammer to decapitate a Marine figure on an Iwo Jima monument near Quantico was granted bond Monday morning. (Photo provided via federal source)
Police arrested him last week after he allegedly attacked the World War II monument near Marine Corps Base Quantico with a sledgehammer.
Prince William County police officers responded at approximately 10:13 p.m. on Oct. 21 and allegedly discovered Maldonado Soriano striking the monument.
Authorities said the limestone sculpture suffered extensive damage, including the complete removal of one Marine’s head.
Police estimated that restoration costs could reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. (Prince William County Police)
Additional figures portrayed raising the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima were damaged as well.
Investigators estimated that repairing the monument would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Federal sources previously told Fox News that Maldonado Soriano entered the United States illegally in December 1999 and received DACA protection under the Obama administration in 2014.
The nine-foot limestone monument depicts the iconic flag-raising on Mount Suribachi during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima. (Prince William County Police)
His DACA status was extended by the Biden administration in 2024, then expired in August 2026 after it was not renewed under the Trump administration.
The nine-foot limestone statue portrays the historic flag-raising on Mount Suribachi during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima.
Felix de Weldon sculpted the piece and later went on to create the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.