A woman accused of spray painting the World War II Memorial and filling its fountain with bubbles has been arrested, according to Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Melissa L. Farris will be charged with depredation against property of the United States and destruction of veterans' memorials, Pirro said in a post on X. Each offense carries penalties of up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Pirro shared images of the suspect, with one of the photos showing her spray red paint on the memorial.
"Vandalizing our World War II Memorial is a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom," Pirro said. "Those Americans include my father and grandfather."
It's unclear if Farris has an attorney.
Red graffiti spray painted onto the memorial Thursday, Aug. 13, spelled out "Clean hands dirty $." Green spray paint was also used on the memorial, and the fountain was seen bubbling over with suds.
After the incident, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to call the act the greatest "insult to those American heroes who died in World War II."
His comments were echoed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which referred to the vandalism as "disgraceful."
"Defacing this memorial with graffiti and paint and dumping soap into its fountains is not an act of expression. It is an act of profound disrespect, a slap in the face to the veterans who served and sacrificed and to the families who carried that burden at home," VFW National Commander Cory Geisler said in a statement. "It is an especially painful insult to the few remaining World War II veterans still with us today."
Geisler said the VFW supports the prosecution of the memorial's vandal, writing in the statement that it expects accountability.
By Friday morning, the memorial had been cleaned up and was open to the public.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: World War II Memorial vandalism suspect arrested, facing felony charges
