The man accused of using a sledgehammer to decapitate a Marine figure on an Iwo Jima monument near Quantico, Virginia, is a Mexican national who entered the United States illegally and was formerly enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, federal sources told Fox News. His DACA protection expired earlier this year.
Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, faces felony charges for destroying property, trespassing with the intent to damage property and causing felony damage to a monument.
“This criminal illegal alien’s dream is over: Maldonado Soriano disrespected our brave service members and defaced a beautiful monument that honored their sacrifice,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement to Fox News. “President Trump has secured our border and is deporting illegal criminals who hate our country and our values. The socialist Democrats want to go back to open borders and flood our communities with dangerous criminal illegal aliens.”
Federal sources said Maldonado Soriano crossed into the United States illegally in December 1999 and received DACA protection from the Obama administration in 2014. The Biden administration extended that protection in 2024, but his status expired in August 2026 after the Trump administration did not renew it.
Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano is accused of using a sledgehammer to decapitate a Marine figure on an Iwo Jima monument near Quantico. (Photo provided via federal source)
Prince William County police arrived at the monument around 10:13 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, after receiving a report of damage. Officers allegedly found Maldonado Soriano still striking the sculpture with a sledgehammer.
Police arrested Maldonado Soriano after determining that the limestone monument had suffered extensive damage. The sculpture honors one of the most recognizable scenes in U.S. military history.
Authorities said the assault completely removed one Marine’s head and damaged other figures shown raising the American flag during the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima.
The limestone statue near Marine Corps Base Quantico depicts the famous flag-raising on Iwo Jima during World War II. (Prince William County Police)
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Photographs released after the alleged sledgehammer attack show the figure on the far right without a head. Another Marine appears to have deep gouges across his helmet and face, police told News Media.
A third figure suffered damage to the bayonet fixed to a rifle slung across his back. Investigators estimated that repairing the monument could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The nine-foot limestone monument recreates the iconic flag-raising atop Mount Suribachi during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima.
A Marine figure in the iconic Iwo Jima statue was decapitated during the alleged sledgehammer attack. (Prince William County Police)
Sculptor Felix de Weldon created the piece. He later designed the much larger bronze Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
The smaller Iwo Jima monument is located near the entrance to Marine Corps Base Quantico, close to the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
Quantico is a major Marine Corps installation in Northern Virginia and has long been associated with military training and education.
Parts of the base were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 as the Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District. The designation includes 122 buildings, two landscapes, a sculpture and a water tower.
Maldonado Soriano remains held without bond. Officials have not announced a date for his next court appearance.