Kentucky Woman Indicted for World War II Memorial Vandalism
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Kentucky woman indicted on charges related to World War II Memorial damage 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.
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Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — 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.
New York PostWASHINGTON — A Kentucky woman was indicted on two counts for vandalizing a World War II memorial in DC, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced on Friday.
Washington ExaminerA federal grand jury on Thursday indicted a Kentucky woman on vandalism charges after she appeared to livestream herself defacing Washington, D.C.’s World War II Memorial.
Fox NewsThe woman accused of vandalizing the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., was formally indicted on Friday, Fox News Digital has learned.
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Farris, 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.
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Washington ExaminerMelissa Farris seemed to be a homeless woman in a questionable state of mind earlier this month when she appeared to film herself spraying pink and green graffiti on the memorial, painting “Clean hands Dirty $” on the inside of its Atlantic Pavilion, and filling the monument’s fountain with bubbly soap.
New York PostFarris posted several videos shot near the memorial to Facebook under the pseudonym Melissa Lovewell — including one where she copped to “damaging” the fountain, the criminal complaint alleged.
Fox NewsThe Kentucky woman allegedly spray-painted the words "Clean hands, dirty money," in bright-pink paint and dumped bubble soap into the fountain at the center of the memorial, according to authorities.
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Several people, including Olympic canoeist David Hearn, were arrested in June for allegedly vandalzing the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, but the charges were dropped earlier this month.
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New York PostThe National Mall has been subject to repeated vandalism this summer. Ultimately, Pirro moved to dismiss charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who the government said allegedly vandalized the liner coating the bottom of the Reflecting Pool.
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Unlike a traditional camera positioned to catch a specific violation, such as not paying a toll, Flock’s cameras collect information about every vehicle that passes them, including license plates and other identifying characteristics. Flock currently has over 120,000 cameras active across 49 states and has struck deals with thousands of municipalities.
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VoxFor many Americans, his warning was no exaggeration: There are now 120,000 Flock cameras on US roads. You can use the crowdsourced map DeFlock to check your area.
The Daily WireTo solve crime, Flock has built the most expansive surveillance system ever deployed in the United States with 120,000 cameras in 49 states. Criticism over the mass surveillance has emerged from both sides of the aisle as Americans digest whether the cameras are worth their benefit.
BreitbartSt. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick spoke with The 904 Now on August 14 about the emergence of Flock cameras, which are said to act only as automatic license plate readers, in his jurisdiction that reportedly has roughly 180 in operation. Maps show some exits having four in one small area alone.
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The issue has surfaced in midterm races in states including Florida, Ohio, and Michigan, where some candidates have sought to link their opponents — fairly or unfairly — to Flock. In Michigan, for instance, Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed released a campaign video last week that suggested voters could “thank” his opponent for the proliferation of the cameras. That video includes footage from a hearing Rogers chaired in 2013, before Flock was even founded; Rogers has not publicly responded.
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Washington ExaminerFlock backlash reaches the midterm elections and Capitol Hill The same concerns that transformed DeFlock from a side project into a national movement are now making their way into the midterm elections, with candidates turning Flock’s surveillance network into a campaign issue.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 New York Post The grand jury indicted her on Thursday. Each count carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison upon conviction. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3, 2026.
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02 Washington Examiner Authorities say the Kentucky native caused more than $1,000 in damage. In an interview with the Washington Post published Thursday, Farris said she committed the act to spotlight alleged wrongdoing by a former union employer in Kentucky.
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03 The Hill Tempe mayor on move to cancel Flock cameras: ‘Potential for misuse was too great’ Corey Woods (D), the mayor of Tempe, Ariz., on Thursday defended his decision to cancel the city police department’s $80,000 contract with Flock Safety, a top automated license plate reader company, amid reported misuse of its products. “The concern that we had was just that the potential for misuse was too great,” he told NewsNation’s…
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04 Vox Yesterday, Senate Republicans opened an inquiry into Flock’s data “collection, retention, and dissemination” practices — a first step that could eventually lead to federal regulation. State officials have also called for restrictions: The technology is “out of control,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a Wednesday press conference.
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05 Associated Press 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.
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06 Breitbart A Florida man faces felony charges after allegedly vandalizing a decoy Flock camera. The decoy, part of a vandalism sting, was built by a police officer with a personal 3D printer to catch vandals in the act.
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07 Fox News "It's me. I am going to turn myself in," she said. "I'm outside district federal court. I am just trying to do the right thing … I was trying to get people to listen… I tried to reach the media, I tried to fight back. I tried to ignore it."
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08 The Daily Wire Cities across the country are giving in as residents eagerly push for the removal of Flock cameras, but after the cameras were taken down in some cities, multiple crimes remain unsolved.
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