Mexican national charged with destruction of the Quantico Iwo Jima Memorial

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Mexican national residing in Stafford faces federal charges for his alleged attempt to destroy a World War II monument at Marine Corps Base Quantico.

As alleged in court documents, on Oct. 21, Prince William County Police arrived at the Iwo Jima Memorial to find Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, actively destroying the memorial with a sledgehammer. Officers arrested Maldonado Soriano and transported him to Garfield Police Station in Woodbridge. The damage to the memorial included the complete removal of one of the heads of the individual Marine statues, removal of multiple rifle barrels on the monument, and the defacing and disfiguring of other parts of the monument.

Maldonado Soriano remains in state custody. Upon his transfer to federal custody, he faces charges of willfully injuring or committing a depredation against property of the United States and willfully injuring or destroying a monument on public property commemorating the service of persons in the armed forces. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Hanna Porterfield, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Washington D.C. Field Office; and Peter Newsham, Chief of Prince William County Police, made the announcement.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlie Ramirez and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Warner are prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District CourtLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 1:26-mj-425.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.