Police investigate vandalism of Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star

LOS ANGELES – Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has had a rough go of it since the controversial business mogul and reality television star became a Republican presidential candidate.

It has been stomped on and on one occasion someone spray-painted a swastika and “mute” icon on it. Someone else built a miniature border wall around the star.

On Wednesday morning Los Angeles police were investigating the latest case of vandalism – and it trumped anything that came before. Deadline reported that a man dressed as a construction worker arrived around 5:45 a.m. Wednesday and smashed the star using a sledgehammer and pickax.

A call came in at 6 a.m. regarding the vandalism, said LAPD Officer Wendy Reyes. An investigation is underway and there have not been any arrests. There were no other details available.

Speaking to Deadline, a man who claimed to be the perpetrator of the vandalism said he originally intended to remove it and auction it off. Video posted on Deadline showed the man smashing the star, located in the 6800 block of Hollywood Boulevard, across the street from the bustling Hollywood & Highland center.

Trump, who starred in the reality shows “The Apprentice” and “The Celebrity Apprentice,” received his star in 2007 in the television category. Officials have previously said there were no plans to remove it.

“The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a registered historic landmark. Once a star has been added to the walk, it is considered a part of the historic fabric of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Because of this, we have never removed a star from the walk,” Leron Gubler, president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which operates the Walk of Fame, said earlier this year.

Walk of Fame officials had also offered a warning: “The Hollywood Historic Trust, which maintains and repairs the stars, has been known to prosecute those who do major damage and they do have to pay restitution.”