Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame star vandalised

Videos on social media show a man destroying US Republican presidential candidate's Hollywood Walk of Fame star saying he is going to auction it and donate the proceeds to Trump's alleged sexual assault victims.

Cement is poured on Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after it was vandalised in Los Angeles, California US, October 26, 2016.
TRT World and Agencies

Cement is poured on Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after it was vandalised in Los Angeles, California US, October 26, 2016.

A man with an axe destroyed US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday in a video protest over sexual assault allegations.

The protester who identified himself as Jamie Otis, dressed in city construction worker overalls, can be seen on footage posted to YouTube and several other websites hacking away the gold lettering and camera logo from the tribute.

Otis calmly explains he is "terribly upset" with 70-year-old Trump, who denies claims by almost a dozen women that he groped or was sexually aggressive toward them.

"Four of my family members were sexually assaulted," he says in the video, an amateur clip which appeared to show at least one professional crew filming the incident.

TRT World and Agencies

Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is seen after it was vandalized in Los Angeles, California US, October 26, 2016.

The man told a local news agency he had originally intended to remove the entire star from the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard.

He said he was going to auction it and donate the proceeds to Trump's alleged victims — every single one of whom the real estate tycoon has vowed to sue after the November 8 election — but was unable to lift the slab.

"It was very difficult. The stone was like marble — hard to get through," he said about an hour after the 5:45 am attack on the star, awarded in 2007 for Trump's work on "The Apprentice."

He added that he planned to surrender to police, either Wednesday or Thursday, but was still working out arrangements with his attorney.

"I'm not frightened of jail and I'm certainly not frightened of Mr Trump," he said, claiming to have been arrested around two dozen times for protesting various causes.

TRT World and Agencies

People take photos by Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as it is being fixed after it was vandalised in Los Angeles, California US, October 26, 2016.

There was no immediate response from Trump, but the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which awards the honours, said the star would be repaired in the coming days and would remain covered in the meantime.

"When people are unhappy with one of our honorees, we would hope that they would project their anger in more positive ways than to vandalise a California state landmark," chamber head Leron Gubler said.

Positive as well as negative thoughts were shared on Twitter about the incident. Some called Otis a "hero" while others believe he should be brought to justice.

This is not the first time Trump's Walk of Fame star has been targeted.

In July, a Los Angeles street artist built a tiny wall of wooden planks topped with barbed wire around it, in protest at Trump's campaign vow to build a wall on the Mexican border.

Last year, excrement was left on the star and someone drew a large yellow X over it. A swastika and a mute symbol were also drawn on the red tile earlier this year.

Liliana Preciado, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department, told AFP the vandal had used both a pickaxe and sledgehammer on the star.

"We have surveillance video as well as video that has been uploaded to the Internet that our detectives are taking a look at and they are confident they will be able to identify the suspect," she added.

Walk of Fame stars are worth around $30,000, meaning anyone found to have destroyed one may find themself facing a felony charge.

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