Stafford man faces federal charges in damage to Iwo Jima memorial near Quantico

By Ezra Whitfield

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Federal prosecutors have charged a Stafford County man in the destruction of part of the Iwo Jima memorial near Marine Corps Base Quantico, at Richmond Highway and Fuller Road. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced Monday that Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, faces two federal counts.

According to court documents cited by the office, Prince William County police arrived at the memorial on Oct. 21 and found Maldonado Soriano “actively destroying the memorial with a sledgehammer.” Prosecutors said the damage included the complete removal of the head of one of the Marine figures, the removal of multiple rifle barrels, and the defacing and disfiguring of other parts of the monument.

The federal complaint charges him with willfully injuring or committing a depredation against property of the United States and with willfully injuring or destroying a monument on public property commemorating the service of members of the armed forces. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. “A criminal complaint is merely an accusation,” the release said. “The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.”

The Department of Homeland Security has said Maldonado Soriano is a Mexican national in the country illegally. “This hateful illegal alien attacked a memorial to our brave Marines, decapitating one of the statues with a sledgehammer,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement Oct. 23. “This criminal will soon face justice.”

The federal case

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Theophani K. Stamos announced the charges with Hanna Porterfield, special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s Washington field office, and Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlie Ramirez and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Warner are prosecuting. The case number is 1:26-mj-425.

Maldonado Soriano remains in state custody, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He will face the federal charges once he is transferred to federal custody.

The state case

He was first charged by Prince William County with felony destruction of property, trespassing with intent to damage property and felony injury to a monument, WJLA reported. Police estimated the damage at hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the station.

A General District Court judge had granted cashless bail. Prosecutors appealed to the circuit court. On Monday, Prince William County Circuit Court Chief Judge Petula Metzler set a $2,500 bond after hearing arguments from both sides, WJLA reported. The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office argued against bond.

It was disclosed in court Monday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer against him, according to WJLA. The station reported that the Prince William County jail does not honor detainers on misdemeanors but sometimes does on felony charges.

What was said in court

A detective testified that Maldonado Soriano told police he damaged the statue because he was told to, and that he claimed a well-known rapper encouraged him on social media to target the monument, according to WJLA. Prosecutors said he also targeted the monument because he had applied to join the Marine Corps and was not allowed to because he is in the country illegally, the station reported. Those are allegations made in a bond hearing. They have not been tested at trial.

His attorney told the court that Maldonado Soriano was brought to Virginia when he was 1 year old and has lived in Stafford County for 26 years. The attorney said he attended Stafford County public schools and college in Virginia and owns a home in Stafford, according to WJLA.

Immigration history

DHS said he entered the country at an unknown date and location in 1999. He was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status in October 2014, during the Obama administration, and it was renewed during the Biden administration, according to DHS. His DACA status has since expired. ICE said a renewal request was denied on Oct. 23, WJLA reported. DHS also said he was arrested in Stafford County for trespassing in 2022.

The Inquisitor is seeking comment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, Marine Corps Base Quantico, NCIS, the Prince William County Police Department and the Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office. Maldonado Soriano’s attorney was not named in the reports reviewed by the Inquisitor.