Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has had a rough couple of years. The plaque—located at Hollywood and Highland—has been defaced with everything from graffiti to dog shit, in addition to being smashed by a sledgehammer; however, all of those incidents pale in comparison to the most recent act of vandalism.
On Wednesday morning, 24-year-old Austin Clay was filmed demolishing Trump’s star with a pickax. CBS Los Angeles reports authorities responded to the scene shortly after 3:30 a.m., about an hour before Clay reportedly turned himself in. He later pleaded no contest to felony vandalism; however, he did not reveal a motive—though we can think of several dozens.
“I just seen a guy going to town on, I guess, the ground or whatever,” witness Patricia Cox told CBS. “I didn’t know what was going on.”
Shortly after images of the destruction surfaced on the internet, TMZ obtained footage of Clay allegedly committing the crime. The video shows the suspect demolishing Trump’s star with a pickax while several pedestrians pass by.
You can check out the clip above.
Shortly after Clay’s arrest, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce addressed the vandalism in a statement to CBS: “When people are unhappy with one of our honorees, we would hope that they would project their anger in more positive ways than to vandalize a California State landmark.”
