A worker removes the remains of the Star of US President Donald J. Trump on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after it was destroyed by a vandal in the early morning hours on July 25, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Xinhua/AFP PHOTO)
LOS ANGELES, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The damaged Hollywood Walk of Fame star of U.S President Donald Trump will be repaired immediately after it was vandalized again early Wednesday, said the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce which administers the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"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 wake of the incident.
The chamber urged people to make a difference by voting instead of destroying public property.
"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.
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 suspect took out a pickax from a guitar case about 3 a.m. local time and began swinging it at the star on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles County, leaving chunks of concrete across the sidewalk, a local news outlet, the KFSN-TV, reported.
The suspect turned himself in to the Beverly Hills police about one hour later.
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-U.S.-dollar bond.
Damaging any Walk of Fame star will result in arrest and prosecution, said officials.
Trump's star has been vandalized several times since the beginning of his presidential run. 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 pickax 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 U.S. 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.
