Crime · 14 August, 2026 · 2 min read
Jeanine Pirro Announces Melissa L. Farris Arrest Over World War II Memorial Vandalism in Washington, D.C.
Melissa L. Farris, 41, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, arrested in WWII Memorial vandalism case. Charged with two felonies: depredation against U.S. property and destruction of veterans' memorials.
Whether the suspect livestreamed the incident.
8 of 9 outlets skipped it: a video livestream confession said .
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NBC News
“The suspect appears to have livestreamed the incident on Facebook in an account under her name.”Read the original ↗
Associated Press
“The arrest followed the discovery of the vandalism, which included bubbles filling a fountain”Read the original ↗
NBC adds social-media livestream detail; others omit it.
Farris charged in D.C.
A person was arrested in connection with vandalism at The World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced Friday.
“Pirro announced on X that her office was filing two felony charges against Melissa L. Farris.”
Pirro said her office was filing two felony charges against Melissa L. Farris, including “Depredation Against Property of the United States and Destruction of Veterans’ Memorials.”
The vandalism discovered Thursday included bubbles filling a fountain and “Clean hands dirty $” written in red paint, and Pirro said Farris is now in custody.
CBS News reported the memorial is located on the National Mall, between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, and said a wall was defaced with red paint including graffiti reading “Clean Hands Dirty $.”
Officials and public reaction
Pirro called the vandalism “a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom,” and said those Americans include my father and grandfather.
In a Truth Social post Friday morning, President Donald Trump said “Our beautiful World War II Memorial was just hit by Spray Painting Vandals,” and wrote “THERE CAN BE NO GREATER INSULT TO THOSE AMERICAN HEROES WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR II.”
The Interior Department said U.S. Park Police were on the scene following Thursday’s vandalism and an investigation was ongoing, while the Friends of the National World War II Memorial said “a national memorial honoring those who served and those who never returned home should never be used as a canvas for vandalism.”
The Veterans of Foreign Wars called the vandalism “an act of profound disrespect, a slap in the face to the veterans who served and sacrificed and to the families who carried that burden at home.”
Case context and what’s at risk
The arrest came amid heightened scrutiny and security on the National Mall over recent renovations and restoration projects, with CBS News noting that in July four people, including former Olympian David Hearn, were charged by Pirro’s office over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
“But the were ultimately after federal prosecutors said that the damage was caused by a ‘botched’ construction job by a contractor, and not vandalism.”
CBS News said prosecutors ultimately dismissed the Reflecting Pool case after federal prosecutors said the damage was caused by a “botched” construction job by a contractor, and not vandalism.
NBC News reported that court documents show Farris is facing a count of willfully injuring or committing a depredation against property of the United States and a count of destruction of a Veterans’ Memorial, and said the suspect appears to have livestreamed the incident on Facebook.N
NBC News also quoted a U.S. NPark Police Detective Christopher Edmund affidavit describing that a U.S. Park Police officer recognized the suspect as someone they arrested for unlawfully camping on federal property on August 10, and said Farris had a Kentucky driver’s license when she was arrested on the camping charge on August 10.