A man was arrested for vandalizing the Iwo Jima Memorial in Quantico, Virginia, after decapitating one of the statues with a sledgehammer on the evening of October 21, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Prince William County police arrested the suspect while he was still actively damaging the statue.
The suspect is Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, identified by DHS as an illegal alien from Mexico. He has been charged with felony destruction of property and trespassing with intent to damage property. According to DHS, he has a prior criminal history that includes a 2022 arrest in Stafford County for trespassing.
Soriano illegally entered the United States in 1999 at an unknown date and location, DHS said. He was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in October 2014 and received renewals under subsequent administrations. His DACA has since expired.