Thread: Illegal immigrant accused of beheading Iwo Jima monument granted bond

Illegal immigrant accused of beheading Iwo Jima monument granted bond

Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano was granted bond in Prince William County Circuit Court

By Sophia Compton , Jake Gibson Fox News

Published October 26, 2026

4:24pm EDT

The man accused of using a sledgehammer to behead a Marine figure on an Iwo Jima monument near Quantico, Virginia, was granted bond Monday morning.

Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, was granted bond in Prince William County Circuit Court. His next court date is expected to be scheduled soon.

Maldonado Soriano, a Mexican illegal alien and former Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, is charged with felony destruction of property, trespass with intent to damage property and felony injury to a monument.

He was arrested last week after allegedly using a sledgehammer to damage the World War II monument near Marine Corps Base Quantico.

Officers with the Prince William County Police Department responded at about 10:13 p.m. on Oct. 21 and allegedly found Maldonado Soriano striking the monument with a sledgehammer.

Authorities said the limestone sculpture sustained extensive damage, including the complete removal of one Marine figure's head.

Other figures depicted raising the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima were also damaged.

Police estimated that the damage would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.

Federal sources previously told Fox News that Maldonado Soriano illegally crossed into the U.S. in December 1999 and was granted DACA under the Obama administration in 2014.

His DACA status was extended under the Biden administration in 2024 before expiring in August 2026 after it was not renewed under the Trump administration.

The damaged 9-foot limestone statue depicts the iconic flag-raising on Mount Suribachi during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima.

It was sculpted by Felix de Weldon, who later created the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.


Fox News Digital's Emma Bussey and Fox News' Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

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