Kentucky Woman Indicted in WWII Memorial Vandalism

A Kentucky woman has been indicted on federal felony charges for allegedly vandalizing the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. A federal grand jury returned the indictment on August 28, 2026, charging Melissa Farris, 41, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, with one count of destruction of a veterans memorial and one count of destruction of government property. The charges stem from an incident on August 13, 2026, at the memorial's Atlantic Theatre Pavilion. According to court documents, U.S. Park Police responded to a report of a disorderly person and found the words "Clean hands dirty" spray-painted in red on a wall, along with other paint splatters.