LOS ANGELES ¨C A man with a pickax vandalized U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame early on Wednesday and later surrendered to police, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said.
¡°A pickax was used in vandalizing the star¡± embedded in the sidewalk near Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Los Angeles at about 3:30 a.m., Sgt. Ray Brown of the LAPD said by telephone.
Installed in 2007, Trump¡¯s star has been frequently vandalized since he was elected president in 2016.
The suspect, 24-year-old Austin Clay, was in custody at the Los Angeles County Jail on a charge of felony vandalism with a bail of $20,000, jail records showed.
As pedestrians walked by the site, in an area popular with tourists, Gregg Donovan, 58, of Los Angeles, stood by with a ¡°Trump 2020¡± sign, saying he was protecting it from further damage.
¡°It¡¯s a California landmark,¡± Donovan said. ¡°Don¡¯t take your anger out on a tourist landmark.¡±
The star was nearly completely destroyed, and there was graffiti scrawled on it.
Before being elected president, Trump, 72, was a real estate developer-turned-reality TV star who was producer of the NBC show, ¡°The Apprentice,¡± and the Miss Universe Pageants.
The suspect pulled a pickax out of a guitar case before striking Trump¡¯s sidewalk honor, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Adrian Rodriguez, a 42-year-old Los Angeles schoolteacher, said: ¡°I don¡¯t condone vandalism but I can certainly see the frustration ... I¡¯m not for Trump but I disagree with this type of protest.¡±
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