Woman charged with vandalizing WWII Memorial on National Mall

Published Aug 14, 04:21 PM UTC

Editorial responsibility

Prepared by: WorldAttention Editorial Systems
Human review: No named human review is recorded for this page.
Automated steps: Source reporting is collected, normalized, translated or condensed automatically when needed.
Page status: Automatically published source-backed update

How automation and AI are used · Report a correction or rights issue

On August 14, 2026, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced that Melissa Farris was taken into custody and charged with two felony counts—depredation against property of the United States and destruction of veterans’ memorials—in connection with vandalism at the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. The vandalism, which occurred on Thursday, involved bubbly soap causing the fountain to overflow with suds, and graffiti reading 'Clean hands Dirty $' painted in red and green. The charges carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison. The incident follows recent controversy over vandalism at the Reflecting Pool, where Pirro dropped charges, drawing criticism from President Donald Trump, who linked the two events and condemned the perpetrators as 'animals.'

Source

Military TimesWestern

Original headline: Woman charged over vandalism of World War II Memorial

Original language: EN

Part of this Story

Woman Charged with Felony Vandalism of WWII Memorial in Washington D.C.

See the full Story: all sources and camp coverage

People and interests

Donald Trump National Mall