U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Friday that the Department of Justice is planning to file two felony charges against a woman accused of vandalizing the World War II Memorial in D.C.
Pirro said the woman, Melissa L. Farris, is now in custody and facing charges that carry up to 10 years in prison. Pirro said the charges were depredation against property of the United States and destruction of veterans’ memorials.
The World War II Memorial was vandalized on Thursday, sprayed with red paint that read “Clean hands dirty $,” and the fountain was filled with bubbles.
“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 posted on X. “Those Americans include my father and grandfather.”
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The nonprofit that maintains the site, the Friends of the National World War II Memorial, denounced the vandalism in a statement to The Associated Press. “There are many places in our country for expression, debate, and disagreement,” the group wrote. “A national memorial honoring those who served and those who never returned home should never be used as a canvas for vandalism.”
President Donald Trump also commented on the vandalism in a post on Truth Social, denouncing the woman while connecting the incident to recent damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which Pirro’s office admitted in a court filing was caused by shoddy work performed by a contractor tasked with revitalizing the monument.
“THERE CAN BE NO GREATER INSULT TO THOSE AMERICAN HEROES WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR II. First the Reflecting Pool, now this. We are on their trail! Where do these animals come from???,” the president wrote.
The vandalism of D.C.’s WWII Memorial comes weeks after charges were filed against a former Olympian canoeist, David Hearn, in connection to damage at the reflecting pool. Hearn, who faced up to 10 years in prison, repeatedly denied that he damaged the pool.
Pirro’s office eventually dropped the case against Hearn, admitting to the court that the damage was the result of shoddy work done by Atlantic Industrial Coatings, the firm that won a no-bid contract worth millions to resurface the pool.
Trump lashed out at Pirro after she backtracked. During an Oval Office rant, the president continued to insist that the damage had been caused by vandals and said Pirro “folded like an umbrella.”
Reports quickly suggested that Trump was considering replacing Pirro over her failure to prosecute the case, though he has yet to acknowledge the rumors publicly.
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