President Donald Trump's star on California's Hollywood Walk of Fame has been demolished — yet again

"All that was left . . . was a jagged hole in the ground," according to a report about the pickaxe wielding vandal

Published July 25, 2018 2:18PM (EDT)

 (Twitter/JonathanNBCLA)
(Twitter/JonathanNBCLA)

President Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California was once again demolished on Wednesday morning. The star was completely smashed — not just damaged — by a vandal wielding a pickaxe, according to multiple reports.

"All that was left of the star was a jagged hole in the ground, and pieces of concrete and the star were left strewn about the sidewalk by the time police arrived," CBS' Los Angeles affiliate KCAL reported.

Witnesses told police that the culprit concealed the pickaxe used to destroy the star in a guitar case, according to NBC's Los Angeles affiliate KNBC.

Police responded to a call about the star being vandalized along Hollywood Boulevard around 3:30 a.m. local time, KCAL reported, and the suspect is believed to have been the dialer. By the time officers made it to the scene, however, the vandal was reportedly gone.

Authorities told the Hollywood Reporter that a 25-year-old man was later taken into custody around 6:20 a.m. local time.

"As of 6 a.m., he was being processed at the LAPD Hollywood division and booked on felony vandalism," the outlet reported.

KNBC reporter Jonathan Gonzalez also tweeted about the incident: "Multiple people — including police — tell me a man walked up with a guitar case and pulled out the pickaxe. Then, it's believed, he called police himself to report it, but left the scene before they got here. Now, he's nowhere to be found."

This marks the second time that the president's star has been demolished.

In the lead-up to Election Day in 2016, a man dressed as a construction worker was filmed destroying the star using both a pickaxe and a sledgehammer after the infamous Access Hollywood tape was leaked, which revealed Trump's past brags about sexually assaulting women. James Otis later pled no contest to felony vandalism, according to THR.

After the incident, the CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce told ABC News it would cost as much as $10,000 to repair.

"It's mostly the cost of the labor," Leron Gubler told the outlet. "The stars are composed of the brass symbols and the terrazzo is concrete with marble chips, so it's a process. It takes quite a bit of work — several hours worth. It'll take several days to season before they can polish and restore it."

Trump's star has become a symbolic battleground for protesters after he first declared his intention to run for the White House.

"It has been defaced by tourists and dogs, had a model of a border wall built around it and covered with 'I resist' stickers," KCAL reported.

Trump received the star in 2007, at which time he was a host of the NBC reality show "The Apprentice." Ana Martinez, the spokesperson for the Hollywood Walk of Fame, later clarified to Fast Company in 2016 that Trump had actually been "selected for his producer job for his Miss Universe shows."

The stars are made with terrazo — a mixture of granite and marble — and brass. Upon selection for the walk, nominees themselves pay thousands of dollars to have their stars installed and maintained.


By Shira Tarlo

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