The investigation took nearly a year to uncover who left racial slurs and an unidentified antisemitic symbol at La Plata Hall at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md.
Law enforcement announced charges on Feb. 8 against Hayden Pritchard, 22, and Sergio Delgado, 21. Each faces one count of trespassing—and additionally in Pritchard’s case, a count of property damage with race or religion as a motive—for vandalism allegedly committed on April 29, 2023. Video footage reportedly contributed to identifying the suspects.
On Tuesday, Military.com identified the men as U.S. Marines, both having enlisted in 2022 and serving at the lance corporal rank.
Capt. Kayla Haas, a spokesperson for Marine Barracks Washington, told the site that “should these charges be substantiated, Lance Cpl. Delgado and Lance Cpl. Pritchard will be held fully accountable for their actions.”
Haas said the charges against Delgado and Pritchard “reflect conduct that is inconsistent with the exceedingly high standards the United States Marine Corps expects of its Marines.”
