Police say a sledgehammer attack caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the historic limestone monument.
QUANTICO, VA — A Stafford man was arrested after police caught him striking the Iwo Jima statue near Marine Corps Base Quantico with a sledgehammer, severing one figure’s head and extensively damaging the monument.
Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, faces felony destruction of property, felony injury to a monument and trespassing with intent to damage property. He is being held without bond following the October 21 incident in Virginia.
Officers responded to Richmond Highway and Fuller Road at approximately 10:13 p.m. and found Maldonado Soriano actively damaging the sculpture, police said. They detained him without incident.
Several figures damaged in attack
The nine-foot limestone monument suffered damage estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Along with the severed head, another figure sustained chips and gouges across its helmet and face. A bayonet attached to a rifle on a third figure was also damaged.
Restoration specialists are being consulted about repairs to the military landmark.
Former DACA protection expired in August
Federal sources identified Maldonado Soriano as a Mexican national living in the United States illegally whose Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protection expired in August 2026.
He previously received protection through the DACA program, which defers deportation for qualifying immigrants brought to the country as children.
Sculpture honors iconic wartime flag-raising
Felix de Weldon, who created the larger bronze Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, sculpted the Quantico monument.
The limestone work depicts the flag-raising on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. It has served as a gathering place for promotions, re-enlistments and retirement ceremonies.