Man Accused of Beheading Marine on Quantico Iwo Jima Statue With Sledgehammer Lost DACA Status in August, Federal Sources Say

A 27-year-old Virginia man is charged with using a sledgehammer to knock the head off a Marine figure on the limestone Iwo Jima flag-raising statue near the entrance to Marine Corps Base Quantico, according to Prince William County police as reported by Fox 5 DC, Fox News and Military.com.

Police identified the suspect as Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano of Stafford, Va. Federal sources told Fox News he is a Mexican national who entered the United States illegally and lost his protection under the Obama-era DACA program in August.

What Police Say Happened

Officers responded at about 10:13 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, to the statue near Richmond Highway and Fuller Road and found Maldonado Soriano "actively damaging" it, according to police as reported by Fox 5 DC. He was detained at the scene.

The damage included the complete removal of one Marine's head, gouges across another figure's helmet and face and damage to a bayonet on a third figure, police told Fox News Digital. Police estimated repairs will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Maldonado Soriano is charged with felony destruction of property, felony injury to a monument and trespassing with intent to damage property, according to police. He is being held without bond, and a court date is pending, Fox 5 DC and Military.com reported. The charges are accusations, and he has not been convicted. Authorities have not announced a motive, Military.com reported.

What Federal Sources Told Fox News

According to federal sources cited by Fox News, Maldonado Soriano crossed into the U.S. illegally in December 1999, was granted DACA in 2014 and received extensions, most recently in 2024. He lost the status in August 2026 when it was not renewed, the sources told Fox News. Military.com and Fox 5 DC also reported the immigration details, attributing them to federal sources cited by Fox News.

"This criminal illegal alien's dream is over: Maldonado Soriano disrespected our brave service members and defaced a beautiful monument that honored their sacrifice," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement to Fox News and the New York Post. "President Trump has secured our border and is deporting illegal criminals who hate our country and our values."

Military.com noted that authorities have not established why the statue was targeted and that there is no verified basis to connect the alleged vandalism to the expiration of his DACA protection.

The Iwo Jima Statue

The 9-foot limestone sculpture depicts the 1945 flag-raising on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima, according to Fox News. It was sculpted by Felix de Weldon, who later created the much larger bronze Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va. The Arlington memorial was not the statue damaged.

The Quantico statue stands near the National Museum of the Marine Corps, outside the base's security checkpoint, Military.com reported. It was vandalized once before, with pink paint, in December 2012, and was later restored, according to Military.com.

Image: Felix de Weldon's original Iwo Jima monument at Quantico, Va., in a 1945 U.S. Marine Corps photograph (historical file photo, not the statue as damaged this week), public domain.

Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press

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Sources: Fox News, "Illegal alien with former DACA status accused in Iwo Jima statue attack: sources" (Oct. 23, 2026): https://www.foxnews.com/us/man-accused-decapitating-iwo-jima-statue-sledgehammer-near-quantico ; Fox 5 DC, "Man suspected of using sledgehammer to damage Iwo Jima statue in US illegally, Fox News reports" (Oct. 23, 2026): https://www.fox5dc.com/news/man-arrested-after-using-sledgehammer-damage-iwo-jima-statue-marine-corps-base-quantico ; Military.com, "Marine Iwo Jima Statue Beheaded at Quantico as Illegal Immigrant Suspect Faces Felony Charges" (Oct. 23, 2026): https://www.military.com/quantico-iwo-jima-statue-beheaded-with-sledgehammer-by-alleged-illegal-migrant ; New York Post, "Vandal beheads Quantico Iwo Jima statue soldier with sledgehammer, causing over $100K in damage" (Oct. 22, 2026): https://nypost.com/2026/10/22/us-news/vandal-beheads-quantico-iwo-jima-statue-soldier-with-sledgehammer/