By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge ordered on Monday the release of a Kentucky woman who was accused of vandalism at the World War Two Memorial in Washington last week, court records showed.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in Washington, criticized the order that led to the release of the woman, Melissa Farris, 41, who was taken into custody last week and charged with two felony counts.
Court documents showed Farris agreed to conditions of her release including surrendering her passport and not leaving the continental U.S. unless approved by court.
The Justice Department urged a reconsideration of Monday’s order and said the woman was “a risk of flight.”
The World War Two Memorial was vandalized with bubbly soap and graffiti on Thursday. The fountain bubbled over with suds and the words “Clean hands Dirty $” were painted on one surface, splattering the area with red and green paint.
In earlier videos posted to her Facebook account, Farris recorded herself spray painting the memorial. She described herself on social media as a “pirate captain” who is “panhandling for America.”
In Facebook posts, Farris had said she was planning the August 13 action to draw attention to U.S. tax dollars not being spent on ordinary Americans and to what she alleged were corporate racketeering, embezzlement and slave labor practices, among other issues.
A preliminary hearing is set for September 3.
Pirro has recently drawn President Donald Trump’s anger for dropping charges against four people the Justice Department had accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool after Trump oversaw renovations of the pool.
The pool’s condition soon deteriorated, with a peeling liner and algae blooms. When dropping the vandalism charges, Pirro blamed the deterioration on faulty installation. Trump said she had “folded like an umbrella.”
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
By Kanishka Singh | Reuters | © Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026.
