Suspect in Trump Walk of Fame vandalism pleaded no contest, officials say
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A California man was sentenced Wednesday after pleading no contest to an act of vandalism to President Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star, which was damaged with a pickaxe earlier this year, officials said.
Austin Mikel Clay, 24, was handed a three-year formal probation sentence, as well as one day in county jail and 20 days of community labor after he pleaded to a "felony count of vandalism causing over $400 in damages," a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.
DONALD TRUMP’S HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME STAR DESTROYED WITH PICKAXE
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Clay is also required to go to counseling and needs to “pay restitution of $9,404.46 to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce” in accordance with a plea agreement, the DA’s office said.
“On July 25, Clay used a pickaxe to smash the star located on Hollywood Boulevard,” the office wrote, adding that he surrendered to authorities the next day.
SMASHING TRUMP’S WALK OF FAME STAR WAS ‘RIGHTFUL’ ACT, SUSPECT SAYS AFTER PLEADING NOT GUILTY
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The DA’s office charged Clay in August with one felony count of vandalism, and on Aug. 15, it tweeted that he'd pleaded not guilty.
At the time, Clay told KABC he didn't feel he should have faced charges “because what I did, I believe, was a rightful and just act.”
“I think that the repercussions of it were only positive," he said. "I only wanted to bring about positive political change."