Kentucky woman faces felony charges in connection to WWII Memorial vandalism

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - A Kentucky woman faces felony charges after U.S. Park Police arrested her Friday in connection with the vandalism of the World War II Memorial in Washington.

Melissa Farris, 40, of Elizabethtown, Ky.,is accused of spray-painting the phrase “clean hands – dirty money” on the memorial and filling the memorial’s fountain with bubbles, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Farris allegedly confessed to the crime on a social media live stream.

The criminal complaint contains photos of a woman witnesses identified as Farris spray-painting the memorial, as well as screenshots of Farris’s social media posts about the vandalism. Members of the National Park Service were responsible for the cleanup.

Farris posted to social media that her actions were intended to push her whistleblower case into the courtroom. She described herself as a Pirate Captain in her Facebook bio.

Farris faces felony charges of destruction of a veterans’ memorial and willfully committing a depredation against property of the United States.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said vandalizing the World War II Memorial “is a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom.”