Sunrise turns the sky orange and red behind the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial on Oct. 2, 2026, in Arlington, Virginia. (J. David Ake / Getty Images)
By Joe Saunders October 23, 2026 at 8:57am
A monument to one of the most stirring moments in American history was attacked by a vandal wielding a sledgehammer — and the White House is branding the suspect an illegal alien.
The sculpture, at the entrance of Virginia’s Marine Corps Base Quantico, depicts the flag raising at Iwo Jima during World War II, Fox News reported.
The attack resulted in the beheading of one of the figures on the monument and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
The man, identified as 27-year-old Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, was arrested at the scene, according to Fox News.
NEW: Multiple federal sources confirm to @FoxNews that the suspect arrested for using a sledgehammer to behead a WW2 Iwo Jima monument in Quantico, VA on Tuesday is a Mexican illegal alien & former DACA recipient whose legal status expired this year. Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano has now been charged with felony destruction of property and trespass with intent to damage property. Per federal sources, Soriano illegally crossed into the U.S. in December 1999. He was granted DACA by the Obama administration in 2014 and had it extended for years, most recently by the Biden admin in 2024, but he lost his DACA status in August of this year when it wasn’t renewed by the Trump administration.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) October 23, 2026
According to Fox News, which cited federal sources, Maldonado Soriano was brought into the country illegally in 1999.
Under the Obama administration, he was a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, also known as DACA, which allowed illegals who were brought to the country as children to receive authorization to work legally.
That status was renewed under the Biden administration, according to Fox News, but Maldonado Soriano lost that status this year when it was not renewed under President Donald Trump’s second administration.
“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.
Does this incident reflect a larger issue with illegal immigration in the U.S.?
“President Trump has secured our border and is deporting illegal criminals who hate our country and our values. The socialist Democrats want to go back to open borders and flood our communities with dangerous criminal illegal aliens.”
Maldonado Soriano was charged with felony destruction of property, trespassing with the intent to damage property, and felony injury to a monument, according to WRC-TV.
WRC identified Maldonado Soriano simply as being “from Stafford County.”
He is being held without bond, Fox News reported.
Shows they have no respect for the men and women that fought for this country.
— Grazia Xuereb (@GraziaXuereb) October 23, 2026
The 9-foot limestone carving of the iconic moment was created by sculptor Felix Weihs de Weldon from the famous photograph of Marines raising the American flag over Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima in 1945.
The Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest battles in US Marine Corps history. It’s a disgrace to see that memorial desecrated.
— Pancake Batter (@cmsdfwnbjv) October 23, 2026
The same sculptor went on to create the huge Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, that immortalizes the flag raising, Fox News reported.
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Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro desk editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015.
Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015. Largely a product of Catholic schools, who discovered Ayn Rand in college, Joe is a lifelong newspaperman who learned enough about the trade to be skeptical of every word ever written. He was also lucky enough to have a job that didn’t need a printing press to do it.
Birthplace
Philadelphia
Nationality
American
