A Kentucky woman spray-painted the National World War II Memorial and livestreamed the whole thing.
Melissa L. Farris, 41, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, now faces two federal felony counts after a grand jury in Washington, D.C. indicted her in connection with the August 13 vandalism of one of the country’s most sacred memorials. She is charged with destruction of a veterans’ memorial and destruction of government property. Each count carries up to 10 years in prison.
Farris is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden on September 3.
According to a report, U.S. Park Police and park rangers were called to the National Mall around 2 p.m. after a witness spotted a woman spray-painting the Atlantic Theatre Pavilion at the memorial. When a ranger arrived, the woman was recording herself as a crowd gathered around her. She fled when the ranger approached.
The graffiti included the phrase “Clean Hands Dirty $” on granite surfaces. Soap had also been dumped into the memorial’s fountains. Cleanup took several hours and cost more than $1,000.
Investigators identified Farris through a witness photograph and social media accounts she operated under the name Melissa Lovewell. Notably, she had already been arrested just days earlier, on August 10, for unlawfully camping on nearby federal property.
The vandalism was no impulsive act. Prosecutors say Farris livestreamed the entire episode. In one video cited in the criminal complaint, she stated: “I am cognitively aware and executively (sic) of the choices I am making and I am doing so to push my whistleblower case into the courtroom… someone has to make choices that are different and I am accountable for my actions. I am going to make these choices today and I will step foot into the courtroom and I will wait to be arrested.”
In a second video recorded afterward, she said: “I was just allowed to deface Federal f**king property, and nobody batted an eye, and that is very strange.”
Farris turned herself in the following day, August 14, at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia. A magistrate judge released her on August 17 under a set of conditions, including residing with family in Ohio under pretrial supervision, surrendering her passport, and undergoing a mental health evaluation. Prosecutors had argued for detention, raising concerns about flight risk.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro addressed the case directly. “The World War II Memorial stands as a lasting tribute to the courage of 16 million Americans who served during World War II and the ultimate sacrifice of the 405,399 who gave their lives defending our nation and the freedoms we hold dear,” she said. “Defacing it is an affront to their service and sacrifice. We will use every tool available under federal law to ensure this conduct is met with justice.”