Suspect accused of beheading Marine in Iwo Jima monument ID'd as illegal alien

Outside Marine Corps Base Quantico stands a limestone replica of the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

Like the 100-ton bronze statue in Arlington, Felix de Weldon's nine-foot sculpture in Quantico depicts six battle-weathered Marines raising an American flag on Japan's Iwo Jima Island during World War II.

'This criminal illegal alien’s dream is over.'

This monument commemorating American heroes and heroism was vandalized on Wednesday. The suspect accused of beheading one of the statues and hammering away at other features has been identified as an illegal alien.

According to the Prince William Police Department, officers arrived to the scene around 10:13 p.m. on Wednesday to find Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano allegedly "actively damaging the statue with a sledgehammer."

In addition to allegedly removing one of the depicted soldier's heads, Soriano is accused of inflicting other damage "estimated to be in hundreds of thousands of dollars," said police.

The suspect was taken into custody and charged with felony destruction of property, trespass with intent to damage property, and felony injury to monument. He was held without bond.

RELATED: Honduran illegal alien assaulted ICE officers with HAMMER, feds claim

Circa Images/GHI/Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Multiple federal sources confirmed to Fox News' Bill Melugin that Soriano is an illegal alien, specifically a former DACA recipient whose legal status expired this year.

Citing federal sources, Melugin reported that Soriano stole into the homeland in 1999, was granted DACA by the Obama administration in 2014, had that DACA status extended by the Biden administration in 2024, and has since lost his status.

The attorney listed for Soriano did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment. The DHS did, however, share an image of an Iwo Jima memorial, vowing in the message, "This we will defend."

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the New York Post, "This criminal illegal alien’s dream is over: Maldonado Soriano disrespected our brave service members and defaced a beautiful monument that honored their sacrifice."

"President Trump has secured our border and is deporting illegal criminals who hate our country and our values," continued Rogers. "The socialist Democrats want to go back to open borders and flood our communities with dangerous criminal illegal aliens."

The Marine Corps Public Affairs told Blaze News: "Marine Corps Base Quantico is aware of the situation. We are working closely with the Prince William County Police Department on a joint investigation. As this is an open investigation, no further comment will be provided."

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