A member of the National Guard stands near the World War II Memorial, after the pool was reportedly vandalized with soap and graffiti in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 13, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
Police have found the person who allegedly spray-painted the World War II memorial in Washington D.C. this week and intend to charge them with vandalism, The Washington Post reported Friday.
While President Donald Trump has been searching for a vandal for the Abraham Lincoln Reflecting Pool, one monument was legitimately vandalized, with the fountain filled with bubbles and the granite spray-painted to say “Clean hands dirty $” under the Atlantic Arch.
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro made the announcement on Friday morning via social media.
“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 wrote. “Those Americans include my father and grandfather.”
The suspected vandal is named Melissa L. Farris and Pirro said she'll be charge with two felonies, including depredation against property of the United States and destruction of veterans’ memorials. Both charges carry prison sentences of up to 10 years, the report said.
Trump has sparred with Pirro both publicly and privately after she withdrew charges from Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of tearing large chunks of the liner of the Reflecting Pool.
Trump complained Pirro “folded like an umbrella.”
“I just think she was totally wrong,” Trump told reporters, repeating the claims from National Park Service employees that were used to secure the indictment against Hearn.
The investigation from the Justice Department ultimately found that a "botched" installation was responsible for the damage to the pool, not vandals.
Still, Trump has reportedly demanded that someone be charged with vandalism.
The Post spoke with Ryan Compton, owner of Domain Aquascapes in Northern Virginia, who explained that the bubbles put in the World War II memorial weren't the standard prank. Typically, when someone pours soap in a fountain, the full system isn't damaged, he said. It can be a “maintenance nightmare" that includes draining and cleaning the fountains and rinsing the pumping systems.
“That’s going to be a lot of man-hours and work involved,” he said.
Photos from Reuters on Thursday showed staff using a de-foaming agent in the fountains.
When Trump ranted about the memorial on Friday morning, he linked it to the Reflecting Pool "vandalism," saying, "First the Reflecting Pool, now this. We are on their trail! Where do these animals come from???"
