Pirro had dropped charges earlier this month in separate memorial case
U.S. authorities arrested Melissa Farris on Friday for allegedly vandalizing the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the Justice Department will file two felony charges that could carry up to 10 years in prison if she is convicted, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said.
“Vandalizing our World War II Memorial is a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom,” Pirro said in a social-media post announcing the arrest. Farris is in custody, according to Pirro.
The charges follow Pirro’s decision earlier this month to drop charges against Hearn, who had been accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Trump criticized the move at the time, saying Pirro “choked,” and her job was seemingly in jeopardy. On Friday, before Pirro announced Farris’s arrest, Trump drew a direct connection between the two cases on social media. “First the Reflecting Pool, now this. We are on their trail!” he wrote.
White House officials have asked the Justice Department to consider a new prosecution of Hearn, and a judge is set to hold a hearing next month to determine whether the dismissal of his charges should be “with prejudice” — a ruling that would bar the government from charging him again for the same alleged conduct.
Pirro’s office has attributed the reflecting-pool damage to what it described as a “rushed and botched” installation of a new lining, part of Trump’s plans to beautify the landmark in time for America’s 250th birthday, despite Trump’s insistence that the destruction was deliberate sabotage.