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A 41-year-old woman has been charged with vandalising the World War II Memorial in Washington DC after authorities said she poured bubble soap into its fountain and spray-painted a cryptic message on the monument. US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said prosecutors had charged Melissa L Farris, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, with two felony offences.

The charges accuse her of depredation against property belonging to the US government and destruction of a veterans’ memorial. Each charge carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Farris was in federal custody on Friday, according to Pirro. An initial court appearance had not been scheduled. The memorial’s fountain was covered in soap suds on Thursday, while the words “Clean Hands Dirty $” were spray-painted in red on the site.

“Vandalizing our World War II Memorial is a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom. Those Americans include my father and grandfather,” Pirro said in a post on X.

According to a criminal complaint, Farris had posted several videos from near the memorial on Facebook using the pseudonym Melissa Lovewell.

In one video, she allegedly admitted to damaging the fountain, saying: “I am cognitively aware and executively (sic) of the choices I am making and I am doing so to push my whistleblower case into the courtroom.” In another video, she said: “It was me,” while standing near an area marked with red and yellow graffiti. “I was just allowed to deface Federal f—ing property, and nobody batted an eye, and that is very strange,” she said in a third video, according to the complaint.

The complaint also noted that Farris had been arrested on Monday for unlawfully camping a few blocks from the memorial.

The World War II Memorial, at the eastern end of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, was cordoned off with crime scene tape after the vandalism. US Park Police and National Guard personnel were seen at the site.

President Donald Trump condemned the incident in a post on Truth Social. “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,” he wrote. “First the Reflecting Pool, now this. We are on their trail! Where do these animals come from???”

An Interior Department spokesperson said the US Park Police would “find the person responsible for this disgusting act”.

“The World War II Memorial is a sacred place to honor the service of our members of the Armed Forces and the over 400,000 Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice in WWII,” the spokesperson said. “The vandalism that occurred is an utter disgrace and will not be tolerated.”

The incident came 13 days after Pirro moved to dismiss charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, 67, who had been accused of damaging the lining of the Reflecting Pool. Hearn was charged with one felony count of destruction of property after authorities said he had “violently” pulled at a section of the pool’s liner on 19 June.

But evidence later provided by the Interior Department indicated that the sealant had already been damaged because of “flawed installation by the contractor”. No charges remain in that case.

Trump criticised Pirro for dropping the prosecution, saying she had “choked”. “The judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked,” he told reporters earlier this month. “I was disappointed in Jeanine Pirro. Really disappointed in Jeanine Pirro,” he added. “She folded like an umbrella.”

Meanwhile, other vandals allegedly used chemicals to burn the numbers “86 47” into grass near the Washington Monument. The numbers were a reference to slang for removing someone from office and to Trump’s second presidential term.

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