Woman Indicted for Vandalizing WW2 Memorial

A federal grand jury in Washington has charged Melissa L. Farris, 41, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, with two felonies after she spray-painted the World War II Memorial and poured soap into its fountain.

The counts are destruction of a veterans’ memorial and destruction of government property. Each carries a maximum of 10 years. She is set to appear September 3 before U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden.

Melissa L. Farris – a.k.a. – Melissa Lovewell

Full live video while vandalizing WWII memorial in Washington DC.

Watch the full show, she's nutty! pic.twitter.com/chD4mFVaCJ

— kentuckyoffgrid (@Kentuckyoffgrid) August 14, 2026

Park Police and rangers responded around 2 p.m. on August 13 after a witness reported a woman painting the Atlantic Theatre Pavilion. A ranger found foam in the fountain and saw the woman recording herself before she fled.

The graffiti included “Clean Hands Dirty $.” Cleanup took hours and cost more than $1,000.

Prosecutors say Farris livestreamed the act. In one video cited in the complaint she said, “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.”

In a later clip she added, “I was just allowed to deface Federal f***ing property, and nobody batted an eye, and that is very strange.”

Farris had been arrested August 10 for unlawfully camping on nearby federal property. Officers matched her to a witness photo and to social-media accounts under the name Melissa Lovewell. She turned herself in August 14 in Alexandria, Virginia.

A magistrate released her August 17 on conditions that included living with family in Ohio, surrendering her passport, and a mental-health evaluation. Prosecutors had sought detention.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro called the memorial a tribute to 16 million who served and 405,399 who died. “Defacing it is an affront to their service and sacrifice,” she said. “We will use every tool available under federal law to ensure this conduct is met with justice.”