By Ismail Shakil and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff
Aug 14 (Reuters) – U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, said on Friday that a woman had been taken into custody and charged with two felony counts in connection with the vandalism at the World War Two memorial in Washington.
Melissa Farris was charged with depredation against property of the United States and destruction of veterans memorials, Pirro said on social media, adding that the charges carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison.
The World War Two memorial was vandalized with bubbly soap and graffiti on Thursday, prompting vows from the U.S. government to find the perpetrator. 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.
Along with her statement on X, Pirro posted photos of a woman who appears to be holding a can close to the red paint on the memorial.
Pirro did not provide more details of the woman in custody or provide the source of the images, which Reuters was not immediately able to verify.
Pirro has recently drawn President Donald Trump’s anger for dropping charges against four people for allegedly vandalizing the Reflecting Pool after Trump oversaw renovations of the pool.
The pool’s condition soon deteriorated, with a peeling liner and algae blooms. Pirro blamed that deterioration on faulty installation in dropping the vandalism charges.
Trump said in response that Pirro had “folded like an umbrella.”
Trump appeared to link the Reflecting Pool damage to the World War Two memorial in a post on social media on Friday, calling it an insult to Americans who had died in the conflict.
“First the Reflecting Pool, now this,” he wrote. “We are on their trail! Where do these animals come from???”
Pirro’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Farris could not be immediately reached for comment.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff; editing by Michelle Nichols and Sanjeev Miglani)
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