Kentucky woman indicted on charges she damaged World War II Memorial in Washington

Melissa Farris of Elizabethtown is suspected of spray painting the words “Clean hands dirty $” on the monument and filling a fountain with bubbles.

WASHINGTON — A Kentucky woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that she intentionally damaged The World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Melissa Farris is scheduled to be arraigned next week on two felony counts. Grand jurors indicted her Thursday on charges of destroying the veterans’ memorial and destroying government property.

An attorney for Farris didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Friday.

Add to GoogleWoman films herself vandalizing World War II Memorial in Washington01:58Farris, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, is suspected of spray painting the words “Clean hands dirty $” on the monument and filling a fountain with bubbles on Aug. 13. She was ordered released after her initial court appearance on Aug. 17.

President Donald Trump posted about the damage to the memorial on social media with a reference to his repeated claims — without providing evidence — that vandals had been damaging the nearby Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.