By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-08-18 11:17:37 | Updated at 2026-08-18 14:48:26
4 hours ago
Members of the National Guard stand near the World War II Memorial, after the pool was vandalized with soap and graffiti in Washington on Aug. 13, 2026. Kylie Cooper/Reuters
A federal judge on Monday ordered the release of a Kentucky woman charged with vandalizing the World War II Memorial on Washington’s National Mall, leading to pushback from federal officials.
Melissa Farris, 41, faces two felony counts for putting soap in the fountain at the World War II Memorial and spray-painting the site’s stone.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has criticized the federal judge’s decision, while the Justice Department called Farris “a risk of flight” and asked the court to reconsider Monday’s order.
“Defacing the World War II Memorial is a disgusting act and an insult to the Americans who fought and died for our country,” Pirro said in a post on X. “We will not tolerate this kind of criminal activism, and we will ensure that anyone who desecrates a veterans’ memorial is held fully accountable.”
Court papers show Farris agreed to forfeit her passport and remain within the continental United States unless a judge decides otherwise. Her preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 3.
Farris allegedly damaged the fountain on Thursday, putting soap in it and causing it to overflow with suds. She allegedly spray-painted “Clean hands Dirty $” across part of the memorial’s surface and left red and green splatters in the same area.
Farris posted videos of herself on Facebook committing the acts, and called herself a “pirate captain” who is “panhandling for America.”
Earlier posts laid out her plan to draw attention to U.S. tax dollars she said weren’t reaching ordinary Americans and what she considered to be corporate racketeering, embezzlement, and slave labor practices.
She faces charges of depredation against property of the United States and destruction of a veterans memorial. She faces up to 10 years in prison for each count if convicted.
Suspect Known to Police
Park police responded around 2 p.m. Thursday after a witness allegedly saw a woman spraying the Atlantic Theater Pavilion. Responding law enforcement discovered foam still bubbling in the fountain.
Farris was already known to officers, who had arrested her three days earlier, on Aug. 10, for camping illegally on federal ground a few blocks away.
She gave the name Melissa Lovewell that time. Social media searches led authorities to the vandalism videos posted under the same handle.
The vandalized National World War II Memorial In Washington on Aug. 13, 2026. U.S. Department of Justice
The Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service,
condemnedthe act on the day it happened.
“The vandalism that occurred is an utter disgrace and will not be tolerated,” the department said in the statement. “Our U.S. Park Police are on the scene and the investigation is ongoing. The public should know we will find the person responsible for this disgusting act.”
The memorial itself
honorsthe 16 million who served in World War II, as well as the more than 400,000 who never came home.
Reuters contributed to this report.
