# Man Arrested for Decapitating Marine Figure on Iwo Jima Statue Near Quantico With a Sledgehammer

Prince William County police say a 27-year-old from Stafford was still swinging when officers arrived Wednesday night. Damage to the 9-foot limestone monument is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

- Section: [Culture](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/culture/)
- Published: 2026-10-22
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/man-arrested-sledgehammer-iwo-jima-statue-quantico-marine-figure-decapitated/

A monument to one of the best-known moments in American military history was badly damaged this week. Fox News reports that police arrested a Virginia man accused of using a sledgehammer to knock the head off a Marine figure in an Iwo Jima flag-raising statue near Marine Corps Base Quantico.

What police say. Prince William County officers were called at about 10:13 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, to the statue near Richmond Highway and Fuller Road. They identified the suspect as Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, of Stafford, Virginia, and say he was still striking the monument when they arrived.

The damage. Police say one Marine's head was removed entirely. Images show the figure on the far right without a head, another Marine with gouges across his helmet and face, and a third with a damaged bayonet. Police estimate repairs would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. They have not said whether the statue can be restored.

The charges. Maldonado Soriano faces felony destruction of property, trespassing with intent to damage property and felony injury to a monument. He is held without bond and no court date has been announced. Authorities have not given a motive.

The monument. Fox describes it as a 9-foot limestone depiction of the 1945 flag-raising on Mount Suribachi, sculpted by Felix de Weldon, who later made the large bronze Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington. It stands near the entrance to Quantico and the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

Note for readers: the suspect is accused, not convicted. Details are as reported by Fox News, citing the Prince William County Police Department.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/us/man-accused-decapitating-iwo-jima-statue-sledgehammer-near-quantico)