Kentucky Woman Charged With Felonies Over Vandalism At WWII Memorial

WASHINGTON —

A Kentucky woman has been arrested and charged with two federal felonies after prosecutors say she filled the fountain at the World War II Memorial with soap and spray-painted its walls with red and green graffiti.

Melissa Farris, 41, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, faces charges of depredation against property of the United States and destruction of veterans' memorials, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced the case on X and said Farris was in custody.

"Vandalizing our World War II Memorial is a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom," Pirro wrote.

Video Shows the Vandalism

The memorial, located on the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, was found Thursday with foam in its Atlantic pavilion fountain and graffiti reading "Clean Hands Dirty $" painted across a wall, according to prosecutors. A witness told U.S. Park Police that a woman was spray-painting the pavilion, and a Park Ranger who responded saw a crowd watching the woman film herself before she fled, prosecutors said.

Farris later livestreamed video on Facebook in which she said she was "cognitively aware" of her actions and described herself as a whistleblower, according to prosecutors. "It was me. I'm doing it, I did it, it's on camera," she said in the video, which showed her waiting several minutes to be arrested before throwing down a pink spray-paint can and walking away. Park Police recognized her from an earlier arrest this month for illegally camping near the memorial, prosecutors said.

On Friday, before turning herself in at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, Farris posted more videos saying she was "just trying to get people to listen" and had "never been in this position before," CBS News reported. She was detained after her initial court appearance, a spokesperson for Pirro's office told CBS News.

A Second Memorial Dispute

President Trump wrote on Truth Social that there was "no greater insult" to World War II veterans than the vandalism, according to Al Jazeera. He also linked the episode to his ongoing dispute with Pirro over a separate case involving the nearby Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Pirro's office had charged former Olympian David Hearn and others over damage to the pool but dropped the charges in August after concluding a construction contractor, not vandals, caused the damage, according to CBS News. Trump publicly criticized Pirro over that decision, telling reporters she had "folded like an umbrella," Al Jazeera reported.

CBS News reported that White House officials have since asked the Justice Department to consider recharging Hearn, though no decision has been made. The Interior Department said Park Police are still investigating the memorial vandalism and vowed to identify anyone else involved.