Melissa Farris, 41, has been arrested and charged with two felonies after allegedly vandalizing the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., where she livestreamed herself spray-painting the monument and later called herself a “homeless freedom fighter” in rambling social media posts.
Farris, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, faces up to ten years in prison on charges of depredation against property of the United States and destruction of veterans’ memorials, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Friday. The suspect was being held following her arrest and appeared at a hearing Friday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, where a judge granted her lawyer’s request to move the case to federal court in D.C.
In the days before the alleged vandalism, Farris posted a series of erratic videos and messages on Facebook under the name Melissa Lovewell, claiming she was under federal surveillance and being pursued by mysterious assailants. “I fled for my life,” she wrote in one Facebook post. “I was shown the federal wiretap. I know that it’s on.”
She also described being chased by “golf carts with people shooting my house from the vacant property next door in Kentucky.” In another post, she declared herself a “homeless freedom fighter” and accused the federal government of malfeasance involving either $2.5 billion or $2.6 billion, including “incidentals.”
Farris demanded the government be forced to fund specific programs as punishment, including “nerf guns and scooters” for orphans in Detroit, “dog beds and supplies” in Lucas County, Ohio, and “a jet for the Make a Wish Foundation,” She wrote that she had tried to “blackball the government” and referenced treble damages for convicted fraudsters.
In a video she described as a “dance party,” Farris performed in front of the White House and stated she was “planning the revolution.” She also complained about a $9.6 billion Biden Administration Energy Department grant for Ford electric vehicle battery plants, posting on Facebook Thursday: “Revolt. With 30 sec phone calls. Take democracy back.”
Hours before allegedly trashing the memorial, Farris urged followers to send her money through Cash App to a friend to buy “paint.” That friend, Maxwell Cuprys, told reporters he did not know about the vandalism in advance and expressed hope that a cleanup crew could remove the graffiti. “It’s a very nice monument. Veterans should be looked after,” he said.
Cuprys said he last heard from Farris the day she turned herself in. “I’m not part of her choice to do this. I’m a little disappointed. I do think she’s a good person deep down,” he added.
In the viral moment that sparked the case, Farris allegedly dumped red paint onto the walls and floor of the Atlantic Pavilion at the World War II Memorial on Thursday and poured a substance into a fountain that caused it to bubble. Some of the graffiti appeared to spell out “Clean hands Dirty $.” A U.S. Park Ranger arrived to find a crowd watching Farris spray-paint the monument while videotaping herself, according to the federal complaint. Once she spotted the ranger, she fled. A witness photographed her in the act, and a Park Police officer recognized her from an August 10 arrest for unlawfully camping on federal property just blocks away. She had livestreamed that arrest as well.
Farris later posted videos admitting to the vandalism and expressing surprise at not being immediately arrested. “I was just allowed to deface Federal [expletive] property, and nobody batted an eye, and that is very strange,” she said in one video, according to investigators. “So I imagine the police will be coming for me soon and I would like to have it recorded for my own safety.” In another clip, she remarked: “Why the [expletive] didn’t I get arrested? You don’t think that’s weird…” She livestreamed herself walking into the federal courthouse Friday morning to turn herself in.
President Donald Trump condemned the vandalism on Truth Social, writing: “Our beautiful World War II Memorial was just hit by Spray Painting Vandals. THERE CAN BE NO GREATER INSULT TO THOSE AMERICAN HEROES WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR II.” The Department of the Interior called the act “an utter disgrace” as crews worked overnight to power-wash the paint, with repair costs already exceeding $1,000.
Farris is expected to have a detention and preliminary hearing in federal court in D.C.