Los Angeles, 26 Muharram 1438/27 October 2016 (MINA) – A man dressed as a construction worker took a sledgehammer and a pickax to Donald J. Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame early Wednesday morning, smashing the sidewalk symbol and attempting to remove it, according to a witness and the police.
A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department, Officer Norma Eisenman, said the authorities received a phone call reporting the attempt at about 6 a.m.
The defaced site was later secured, and a tent placed over the star, nytimes.com quoted Officer Eisenman as saying.
The witness, Dominic Patten, a senior editor at Deadline Hollywood, which initially reported the news, said the man told him he wanted to auction the star and raise money on behalf of the nearly dozen women who have accused Mr. Trump of sexual assault or sexual harassment.
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In a phone interview, Mr. Patten, 47, said he had been walking on Hollywood Boulevard near the intersection of Highland Avenue to a meeting when he spotted the man wearing what looked like Los Angeles City construction gear, a hard hat and a reflective vest. He was holding a sledgehammer and a pickax.
The man “suddenly picked up the sledgehammer and started smashing the bejeezus out of the Trump star,” Mr. Patten said. “Then he took the pickax and was trying to pry one of the points of the star.”
“Shrapnel was flying everywhere,” Mr. Patten added.
He said that there were about eight or nine people on the street at the time, and that the man’s attempt went on for approximately five minutes, after which he “made a quick retreat.”
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Though the police had no immediate information on a suspect, Deadline Hollywood identified the man as Jamie Otis.
But his identity could not be confirmed independently on Wednesday morning. (T/R07/R01)
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