Man arrested after using sledgehammer to damage Iwo Jima statue at Marine Corps Base Quantico

QUANTICO, Va. - Authorities have arrested a 27-year-old man accused of using a sledgehammer to decapitate a soldier on the Iwo Jima statue and cause extensive damage to other parts of the monument at Marine Corps Base Quantico, police said.

Officers responded around 10:13 p.m. Wednesday to the statue near Richmond Highway and Fuller Road in Quantico, where they found Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, of Stafford, actively damaging the structure, according to police. Maldonado Soriano was quickly detained at the scene.

Damage to the monument, which included the removal of one depicted soldier's head along with additional destruction, is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, police say.

Maldonado Soriano was arrested and charged with felony destruction of property, trespassing with intent to damage property, and felony injury to a monument. He is being held without bond, and his court date remains pending.

The statue at Marine Corps Base Quantico is a smaller replica of the famous World War II U.S. Marine flag-raising. Located near the entrance of the National Museum of the Marine Corps, the monument was sculpted from limestone by Felix de Weldon, who also created the massive bronze version of the memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

NewsVirginiaVirginia Crime