The arrest came weeks after President Trump criticized Jeanine Pirro for dropping charges over damage to the reflecting pool.
Published August 14, 2026
A woman has been arrested and charged with two felonies for vandalizing a World War II monument in Washington, D.C. It comes weeks after President Donald Trump publicly reprimanded his own U.S. attorney over another incident of vandalism at a nearby reflecting pool.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced Friday that Melissa Farris, 41, was taken into custody and charged with plundering U.S. property and vandalizing a veterans monument.
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This charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The arrest came a day after the monument was vandalized with soap and graffiti. The fountain was filled with bubbles and the words “Keep your hands $” painted in red and green on its surface.
“Tearing down World War II monuments is a despicable attack on sacred monuments honoring Americans who died fighting for freedom,” Pirro wrote on social media platform X, adding that his father and grandfather were also among those who served in the U.S. military.
Pirro also posted a photo of a woman who appeared to be holding a spray can near the monument’s red graffiti. She did not say where the images came from.
Farris is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday. The public defender’s office announced the same day that she had not yet been assigned an attorney.
Trump and Pirro clash over reflecting pool
The charges come weeks after Pirro dropped property damage charges against several people accused of damaging the nearby Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. The decision infuriated President Trump and exposed a rare public disagreement between the president and one of his political appointees.
President Trump had claimed the pool was intentionally destroyed after renovations he ordered and oversaw. However, within days of completing the work, conditions worsened, with the blue sealant peeling off and algae growing in the water.
Pirro held a press conference in early July in which he accused former Olympian David Hearn of vandalizing the reflecting pool. He was one of at least seven people facing criminal charges over peeling pool sealant.
Pirro initially said the government’s case was based on “extensive evidence,” but less than a month later, on August 1, he filed a motion with the court to drop the charges against Hahn.
Mr Pirro claimed that the Interior Ministry “did not provide sufficient information at the beginning of the incident” and blamed the damage on poorly repaired reflecting pools.
President Trump responded by harshly criticizing Pirro and doubling down on allegations of property damage, but has yet to provide conclusive evidence.
“I was disappointed in Jeanine Pirro. I was really disappointed in Jeanine Pirro. She was folded like an umbrella,” he told reporters on August 3.
President Trump appears to be linking the controversy to the latest act of vandalism at a World War II memorial on Friday.
“Our beautiful World War II memorial was just attacked by spray-painted vandals,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“First it was the reflecting pool, and now this,” he continued. “We are following in their footsteps. Where did these animals come from??”
The Interior Department said the U.S. Park Police was investigating the vandalism and vowed to find the culprit.
“The public should know that we will find those responsible for this abhorrent act,” the ministry said.
President Trump is renovating Washington, D.C., a major highlight of his second term, and he and his allies have begun controversial renovations to the White House and Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, among others.
This month also marks the anniversary of President Trump sending the National Guard to Washington, D.C., to crack down on crime.
But critics have criticized Trump’s heavy-handed approach to law enforcement and questioned the basis for some of the charges filed under his anti-crime campaign.
