Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame star vandalized again

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US President Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was smashed into pieces by a man with pickax early Wednesday, according to Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).

The man turned himself into Beverly Hills police later and was taken into custody.

The suspect removed the pickaxe from a guitar case about 3:00 a.m. local time and began swinging it at the star on Hollywood Boulevard, leaving chunks of concrete strewn across the sidewalk, a local news outlet, the KFSN-TV, reported.

The star of Trump was "totally demolished, not just vandalized," according to the Hollywood Reporter.

File of President Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame being installed after it was vandalized in 2016. /VCG Photo

LAPD told the Hollywood Reporter that the suspect is 24-year-old Austin Mikel Clay. He was booked on felony vandalism and jailed on a 20,000-US dollar bond.

The Hollywood Historic Trust will repair the star immediately but requires several days of seasoning before it is polished. During that time, the star will be covered.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which administers the Hollywood Walk of Fame, urged people to make a difference by voting instead of destroying public property.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame star for Donald Trump is framed in protest posters during a demonstration in 2016. /VCG Photo

"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," read a statement of the institution in the wake of the incident.

"The Hollywood Walk of Fame is an institution celebrating the positive contributions of the inductees," said Leron Gubler, president, and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Gubler said the chamber is working with the police in regards to the felony and intends to prosecute to the full extent of the law.

Damaging any Walk of Fame star will result in arrest and prosecution, said officials.

File of Donald Trump honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. /VCG Photo

Trump's star has been vandalized several times since the beginning of his presidential run and this is the second time the star was totally destroyed.

In October 2016, Los Angeles man James Otis, dressing as a construction worker, took a pickaxe to the star and destroyed it. Otis struck a plea deal with prosecutors in February 2017 that saw him avoid jail time in exchange for paying 4,400 US dollars to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Hollywood Historic Trust.

Trump was honored with the star in 2007 for his work producing the Miss Universe pageant and for his hit NBC reality television show The Apprentice.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency