When immigration officials moved to deport illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a credibly accused MS-13 gang member and wife-beater, corporate media rushed to this “Maryland man’s” defense. Now, these so-called “defenders of democracy” are pulling a similar trick with their newfound “Virginia man.”
The Prince William County Police Department announced late last week that it had arrested and charged Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, of Stafford, for allegedly using a sledgehammer to destroy the Iwo Jima statue near Virginia’s Marine Corps Base Quantico. The department said, “Damage to the statue, which included the removal of one of the depicted soldier’s head in addition to other damage, is estimated to be in hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
As described by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, the Quantico Iwo Jima monument was created by artist Felix de Weldon to commemorate the historic flag raising that occurred during the Battle of Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945. “For generations, this monument has stood as a tribute to the courage, sacrifice, and enduring legacy of the United States Marine Corps,” the group’s website reads.
As it turns out, Soriano is not just a typical Stafford resident.
According to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he’s a Mexican national who unlawfully entered the United States sometime in 1999 and was later granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) by the Obama administration in 2014. The Biden administration then renewed that status. His DACA status has since expired, and a renewal request was rejected on Oct. 23, the latter agency said.
Yet anyone who’s taken a glance at legacy media’s “reporting” on the incident likely wouldn’t know that Soriano is an illegal alien. Headline after headline surrounding the statue’s destruction refers to the Mexican national as nothing more than a “Virginia man.”
“Virginia man charged in damage of Iwo Jima statue near Quantico,” an Oct. 22 Washington Post headline reads. The outlet has not updated the piece or its headline to include details about Soriano’s immigration status as of this article’s publication.
Such details have also not been included in Friday articles by People magazine and the Military Times. The People article’s headline reads, “Man Accused of Beheading Soldier on Iwo Jima Monument Using Sledgehammer,” while the Times’ reads, “Virginia man arrested after Quantico Iwo Jima statue defaced with sledgehammer.”
Outlets like CNN and Stars and Stripes have updated their pieces on the incident to include information about Soriano’s past DACA status. The articles’ headlines, which read, “Man accused of beheading Iwo Jima statue in Virginia with sledgehammer” and “Virginia man charged after sledgehammer attack on Iwo Jima statue,” respectively, remain unchanged as of this article’s publication, however.
Soriano was granted a $2,500 bond on Monday, according to the local ABC affiliate. The Mexican national faces charges related to felony destruction of property, trespassing with intent to damage property, and felony injury to a monument.
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) October 26, 2026🚨BREAKING: Prince William County Circuit Court Chief Judge Petula Metzler granted bond at $2,500 for Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano. The illegal immigrant is accused of beheading and damaging the Iwo Jima statue in Quantico, Virginia.
It was revealed in court this morning that… https://t.co/Ar7qFDYTIb
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood