A Mexican illegal alien granted permission to remain in the United States under the Obama administration is accused of using a sledgehammer to behead a Marine figure on an Iwo Jima monument near Quantico, Virginia. Authorities identified the suspect as 27-year-old Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano. Police reported extensive damage to the sculpture, while Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin traced the suspect’s immigration history through multiple presidential administrations.
Prince William County police responded to the monument near Richmond Highway and Fuller Road at approximately 10:13 p.m. on October 21st. Officers said they found Maldonado Soriano, of Stafford, “actively damaging the statue with a sledgehammer.” They detained him without incident at the scene. The limestone memorial stands near the entrance to Marine Corps Base Quantico and the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
The damage extended across several figures in the flag-raising scene. One Marine’s head was completely removed, while another figure sustained gouges to its helmet and face. A third figure suffered damage to the bayonet attached to the rifle slung over its back. Police estimated the destruction would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.
Melugin reported, citing multiple federal sources, that Maldonado Soriano crossed into the United States illegally in December 1999. The Obama administration granted him Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protection in 2014. His protection was extended under President Joe Biden in 2024, but he lost it in August 2026 after the Trump administration didn’t renew it.
The White House also responded to the alleged attack. In a statement to Fox News, spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Maldonado Soriano “disrespected our brave service members and defaced a beautiful monument that honored their sacrifice.” Rogers pointed to President Donald Trump’s border enforcement and deportation policies, while accusing Democrats of wanting to restore open borders and allow dangerous illegal immigrants into American communities.
The sculpture depicts the American flag-raising on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima, captured by photographer Joe Rosenthal on February 23rd, 1945. Sculptor Felix de Weldon created the limestone monument and the much larger bronze Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington. The Arlington memorial was dedicated on November 10th, 1954. The Quantico sculpture occupies a site used by generations of Marines for ceremonies marking milestones in their service.
Watch the report on the damaged Iwo Jima monument here:
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Maldonado Soriano faces charges of felony destruction of property, felony injury to a monument, and trespass with intent to damage property. He remains in custody after a judge granted release without cash bail but stayed that order following prosecutors’ objection, with a bond-appeal hearing scheduled for Monday, October 26th, at 9:30 a.m., according to Potomac Local. Asked about the alleged attack’s motive, Prince William County police Sgt. Erin Noble said, “the accused has given us multiple, conflicting reasons.”
Keil Gentry, director of the National Museum of the Marine Corps, described the monument’s continuing role in military life during an interview with NBC4 Washington. He said Marines had gathered there for promotions, commissionings, retirements and reenlistments over generations. Experts had already been consulted about restoring the damaged sculpture. Gentry described the anticipated repairs as “likely to be challenging.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.