Illegal immigrant accused of beheading Iwo Jima monument granted bond

Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, was granted bond in a Virginia court after being accused of damaging an Iwo Jima monument near Marine Corps Base Quantico. The case concerns extensive damage to a memorial depicting Marines raising the American flag during the Second World War battle.

Police say they found him striking the limestone sculpture with a sledgehammer at about 10.13pm on 21 October. The nine-foot statue lost one Marine figure’s head, and other figures were damaged; repairs are estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. He faces felony charges of property destruction and injury to a monument, as well as trespass with intent to damage property, and is expected to return to court.