The millionaire activist who admitted smashing up Donald Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame star called the Republican nominee a 'serial liar and a misogynist' as he explained his actions on Thursday.

James Otis, 52, an heir to the Otis Elevator Company fortune, was arrested on Thursday for taking a sledgehammer and pick-ax to the $30,000 tourist attraction.

He told reporters a short time after he was released from jail on $20,000 bail, that he did it to show support for women who have accused Trump of groping them.

'He's a serial liar and misogynist and that's why we're here: to try to address that and help those women who told Mr. Trump they won't stand for it anymore,' Otis said.

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James Otis, the man who admits vandalizing Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, speaks to the media about his arrest outside of the LAPD Metropolitan Detention Center

Fixing: By Wednesday afternoon, replacement work on the star was underway. Otis wanted to give auction money to Trump's alleged abuse victims; Trump denies the abuse charges

Otis was arrested for felony vandalism and is due in court on November 18, authorities said.

The charge that could earn him three years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Otis, in his news conference, said he is taking responsibility for hacking at Trump's star and he criticized Trump for what he described as dodging his responsibility.

His attack on Wednesday on the star, which Donald Trump received in 2007 for starring in the NBC show 'The Apprentice,' made national headlines.

Otis was captured on video in a hard hat and reflective vest as he hacked at the star before dawn on a sidewalk in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood.

Otis, an heir to the Otis Elevator Company fortune, said he'd taken a sledgehammer to the star because he was furious at allegations that Donald Trump had committed sexual assault

The stunt left Trump's name scratched out of the star, the emblem in the middle dislodged and chips missing.

Leron Gubler, president and chief executive of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which administers the hundreds of star plaques on sidewalks in the Los Angeles neighborhood, has said the star would be covered for days during repairs.

A spokeswoman for Trump did not return emails seeking comment on Thursday.

Trump drew widespread condemnations from voters and a number of Republican elected officials after a 2005 video emerged in which he was heard talking on an open microphone about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman.

Trump has denied the allegations made by several women that he groped them.

On Thursday, Otis said that he has been arrested multiple times over the years for civil disobedience.

He had planned to hold a press conference before turning himself in,TMZ reported, but was pulled in by cops before he had the chance.

He was reportedly co-operative with police as he went in, and had previously spoken about how he 'wasn't afraid' of Donald Trump or being taken to court.

Damaged: The pink terrazzo star had been rendered useless by the attack, and needed to be completely replaced - as did the brass letters and round TV emblem

Smashed: Otis wore a construction outfit while he smashed the star with a pick-ax, taking the name and emblem with the intention of auctioning them off to the highest bidder

Otis was recorded clobbering the star at around 5.45am on Wednesday, early enough that there were no police and just a few bystanders around.

He had intended to take the whole star and auction it, then give the money to the 11 women who accused Donald Trump of sexually assaulting or harassing them.

However, when he realized the job was too big for his tools, he settled for taking the brass letters spelling Trump's name, and the TV emblem that commemorated his work on 'The Apprentice.'

In a video he recorded for TMZ prior to his arrest, Otis said that members of his family had been victims of sexual assault and that he was outraged by the Trump allegations, which the Republican candidate denies.

Otis said in the video that he has an attorney and that he planned to turn himself in, and that he wants to 'put a spotlight on sexual violence in this country.'

The self-styled 'non-violent activist' also said he had been arrested '24, 25 times' and that it would be an 'honor' to see Trump in court.

Smashing: Otis was able to work unimpeded because he arrived at the spot so early that there weren't many police officers around. He also used plastic barriers to pretend to be a worker

Abuse: Otis said in this video interview that his family members had suffered abuse, and that he was not afraid to go to court for the vandalism

'I'm not frightened of him a bit,' he said. 'He's just a bully... hopefully he will take more concern over the women he's been predatory towards.'

Otis is a direct descendant of Elisha Otis, who invented a safety device to stop elevators if they fall and opened the Otis Elevator Company, which still runs to this day.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he is also the CEO of the Otis Lambert Financial Group LLC, which raises capital for real estate and financial services projects.

Recognition: The star was placed in 2007, in recognition of Trump's work on the TV show 'The Apprentice'. Pictured: The star's unveiling ceremony

An avid peace activist, he hit the headlines in 2009 when he sold a collection of Mahatma Gandhi's possessions - including his glasses - to Kingfisher lager owner and airline magnate Vijay Mallya for $1.8million.

However, he later regretted selling the items, as the Indian businessman had an ongoing dispute with the then-Indian government.

An exclusive video obtained by Deadline Hollywood shows Otis smashing up the star early Wednesday morning, with no police and just a few bystanders watching.

He is surrounded by plastic cones and plastic construction barriers as he slams the tourist attraction repeatedly with his sledgehammer and ax.

'Sorry guys, watch your eyes,' he says, as sparks and chunks of rock fly into the air.

He's then seen rooting around with his fingers to pull up the bronze letters and emblem.

A police cruiser came by the scene near the Dolby Theater at 6.15am, around 30 minutes after Otis began his digging, but by then he had fled.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which maintains the popular tourist attraction, says it will take several days to repair Trump's star - though work had already begun on Wednesday afternoon.

Filling in: A worker pours the terrazzo into the Walk of Fame star Wednesday. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which maintains the $30,000 stars, says it will take days to fix

Protection: Gregg Donovan, self-styled 'unofficial Hollywood ambassador,' shows his support for Trump's newly restored star. He previously put a Trump sticker on the damaged slab

Shiny bronze letters and a new medal were photographed being inserted back into the newly hollowed-out space by a workman, while crowds looked on.

On Thursday afternoon Gregg Donovan, self-styled 'unofficial Hollywood ambassador,' placed a Trump banner above the newly refurbished star, which had been covered over with a board and surrounded by barriers.