HOLLYWOOD HILLS—Austin Mikel Clay, 24, of Glendale was charged with one count of felony vandalism on Monday, August 6, after he took a pickaxe to President Donald Trump’s star located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
According to a press release from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, Clay smashed Trump’s star on July 25 at around 3 a.m. He left the scene before the authorities could arrive, but turned himself into the Beverly Hills Police Department on July 26. Clay is expected to be arraigned on August 15 in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. His bail was recommended at $20,000.
The Los Angeles Police Department Hollywood Station is still investigating the case. If Clay is convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of up to three years in state prison.
On July 26, a fight broke out at Donald’s Trump star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Officials from the Los Angeles Police Department are searching for the two men suspected of assault and stealing a camera from an individual.
The fight occurred on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue after a video was posted on Twitter of the fight at 10:27 p.m. The video shows an anti-Trump supporter yelling explicit content to a man wearing a Trump jersey. The man in the jersey tells the other man to get out of his face moments before a fight breaks out and several people are seen throwing punches and shoving each other. No one was seriously injured during the incident.
The Twitter user that posted the video of the fight stated in the tweet, “Fight breaks out at Donald Trump’s star on Hollywood Boulevard. All because @ElijahSchaffer was wearing a Trump jersey and USA hat. Be safe out there. The intolerance is real!”
This is not the first time Trump’s Hollywood star has been vandalized, two years ago James Otis was charged with felony vandalism in 2016 after he damaged Trump’s star with a sledgehammer. Otis caused $400 in damage to the star and was sentenced to three years of formal probation, 20 days of Caltrans work and ordered to pay $3,700 to the Hollywood Historic Trust and $700 to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
The city of West Hollywood proposed removal of Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Walk of Fame is in Hollywood, not West Hollywood.
“The Hollywood Walk of Fame is an institution celebrating the positive contributions of the inductees,” said Leron Gubler, President/CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. “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. Our democracy is based on respect for the law. People can make a difference by voting and not destroying public property.”
