Donald Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Caged, Boarded Up

President Donald Trump's star along the Hollywood Walk of Fame is boasting some extra security. [...]

By Allison Schonter

President Donald Trump's star along the Hollywood Walk of Fame is boasting some extra security. Following repeated defacings since he took office in 2016, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has boarded the star up with a piece of plywood and surrounded it with a steel barricade to prevent further defacing.

TMZ was the first to report on the new measure, and video shared to social media shows the star caged and boarded up. According to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the steel barricade was erected as a safety precaution to prevent people from tripping over the plywood. At this time, it is unclear how long the current setup will last or if more extreme measures will be taken.

The decision to add extra security around the president's star comes after it has been repeatedly vandalized over the past several years. In 2016, James Lambert Otis dressed as a construction worker and used a pickaxe and sledgehammer to destroy the star in a moment that was captured on video. He was arrested and confessed that he attempted to extract the star in order to auction it off to raise money for the women who accused Trump of sexual assault. In July of that year, a 6-inch high concrete wall with razor wire was constructed around the star to represent Trump's proposed border wall. In 2017, someone used a permanent marker to write "F– Trump" across the star. In 2018, a man was arrested after he used a pickaxe to destroy the president's star.

Despite the repeated offenses on the star, TMZ reported in 2018 that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Police Department had decided against moving the star. Law enforcement sources told the outlet that following the repeated vandalism, the two organizations had met to discuss the best course of action and agreed that moving the star would only embolden people to deface stars along the iconic walkway, and so the decision was made to keep the plaque where it is despite knowing that it would likely be vandalized again.

Sure enough, the offenses against the star have continued. Most recently, a man used white spray paint to write the words "Putin's b–" over top of the star. The vandalism occurred just days after the presidential election. The paint was removed within hours.

Trump received his star along the famed Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. It was awarded to him as recognition for his work in the entertainment business as the host of NBC's hit reality TV show The Apprentice.

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