A 27-year-old Stafford County man is being held without bond after police say he took a sledgehammer to the Iwo Jima statue outside Marine Corps Base Quantico, knocking the head off one of the Marines in the famous World War II flag-raising scene, according to Prince William County police as reported by The Washington Post and Fox News.
Officers responded at about 10:13 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, to the monument near Richmond Highway and Fuller Road in Triangle, Virginia, and found Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano “actively damaging the statue with a sledgehammer,” according to a police daily incident report cited by The Washington Post.
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Maldonado Soriano is charged with felony destruction of property, felony injury to a monument and misdemeanor trespass with intent to damage property, according to The Washington Post and Potomac Local. Police have not released a motive, and no court date has been announced, Fox News reported.
Damage to a Marine Corps landmark
Police estimated the damage at hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to The Washington Post. Fox News reported that the figure farthest to the right was left without a head, a second Marine had gouges across his helmet and face, and a third lost the bayonet on the rifle slung over his back, citing police.
The nine-foot limestone statue depicts the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima, according to Fox News. It was sculpted by Felix de Weldon, who later created the bronze Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, and it stands near the entrance to Quantico close to the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Fox News reported.
Immigration status
Federal sources told Fox News that Maldonado Soriano is a Mexican national who crossed into the United States illegally in December 1999. According to those sources, he received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protection under the Obama administration in 2014, had it extended in 2024, and lost the status in August 2026 when it was not renewed.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement to Fox News that “this criminal illegal alien’s dream is over,” adding that Maldonado Soriano “disrespected our brave service members and defaced a beautiful monument that honored their sacrifice.” Rogers said President Trump “has secured our border and is deporting illegal criminals who hate our country and our values.”
The case was featured on Fox & Friends on Friday morning, where correspondent Todd Piro reported that the suspect is being held without bond, in a segment the show posted on X.
What comes next
Maldonado Soriano remains in custody without bond, according to Fox News and Potomac Local. Federal authorities have not publicly said whether immigration officials have placed a detainer on him, and police have not said what led to the attack.
For Marines and veterans, the Quantico statue is more than a roadside landmark. The flag-raising it depicts, captured in Joe Rosenthal’s photograph, remains one of the most recognizable images in American military history. Repairs to the limestone figures are expected to be costly, according to police estimates reported by The Washington Post, and no timeline for restoration has been announced.
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- Original post: FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) on X, Oct 23, 2026
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