Words by: Symone Daniels
The man who took a pickax to Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 25, pleaded no contest Wednesday to a felony vandalism charge and was sentenced to three years probation.
In addition to probation, 24-year-old Austin Clay was also ordered to community service, psychological counseling, and pay more than $9,300 in damages to the Hollywood Chambers of commerce. After demolishing Trump’s star near Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue with a pickax, in a strange turn of events Clay, called the LAPD and turned himself in.
In August after pleading not guilty, Clay referred to the defacement of the star as a “rightful and just act.” This isn’t the first time Trump’s star had been vandalized. Trump’s star was attacked in 2016, also with a pickax by James Otis, who paid the $20,000 bail for Austin Clay.
Given all of the hateful rhetoric and divisiveness Trump has caused do you think Clay’s sentence was extreme?
