A federal magistrate judge on Monday released the woman accused of deliberately defacing the World War II Memorial, allowing her to leave custody on nothing more than a personal-recognizance bond.
Melissa L. Farris, 41, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, walked free on personal recognizance despite the Justice Department’s urgent request that she be held as a flight risk.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh rejected prosecutors’ arguments and cut her loose with conditions that include staying out of Washington except for court appearances, staying away from the memorial she is accused of desecrating, surrendering any passport, and reporting to pretrial supervision, according to court records reported by WJLA.
Farris is due back in court September 3.
On August 13, Farris allegedly turned the World War II Memorial into her personal stage. She spray-painted “Clean Hands Dirty $” across the Atlantic Pavilion, splattered the site with additional paint, and poured a soapy substance into the fountain that sent bubbles cascading over the memorial to the 16 million Americans who served in the war that saved the free world.
She didn’t hide. She livestreamed it.
In Facebook videos later cited by federal investigators, Farris declared she was “cognitively aware” of her actions and claimed she was a “whistleblower” trying to force her case into court. “It was me. I’m doing it, I did it, it’s on camera,” she said while standing at the memorial. She waited for police, complained when they didn’t immediately arrest her, threw a pink spray-paint can on the ground, and walked away.
She had been arrested just three days earlier for illegally camping on federal property only blocks from the memorial. A Park Police officer recognized her from that earlier arrest when images of the vandalism circulated.
Cleanup and restoration costs already exceeded $1,000.
Farris faces two serious felony charges: depredation against property of the United States and destruction of veterans’ memorials. Each carries a maximum of 10 years in federal prison.
In the bizarre videos leading up to the attack, Farris called herself a “homeless freedom fighter.” She claimed the federal government had wiretapped her, that people in golf carts were shooting at her house in Kentucky, and that she had fled for her life. She demanded the government fund her preferred programs as punishment for alleged multi-billion-dollar “malfeasance.”
In one of her videos posted before surrendering to authorities, Farris apologized for the crime she committed and claimed she has autism and ADHD.
“I know I made a lot of people mad, and I’m sorry. I was just trying to get help for myself,” she said.
She then expressed fear about what could happen to her in custody.
“Will somebody please check on me in jail? I have autism, ADHD, and I don’t eat meat,” she said. “I’m afraid they’re gonna hurt me for what I did, and all I was trying to do was help myself.”
She also told viewers that she planned to document her surrender as much as possible.
“So, I’ll make a video of me turning myself in as much as possible,” she said.
In a follow-up video, she announced that she was on her way to surrender to authorities.
“It’s me. I’m going to turn myself in,” she said. “I didn’t want to go to jail.”
Farris told viewers she had “never been in this position before” and claimed her actions were a desperate attempt to make people pay attention to her.
“I’m just trying to do the right thing,” she said. “I was just trying to get people to listen.”
Farris said she had attempted to give evidence to authorities, contact members of the media, fight back, and later ignore the situation. She spoke about living in a poorly insulated camper, being separated from her dogs, and believing she was entitled to federal protection.
She also made a series of disturbing, unverified claims about being watched, followed by military aircraft, and having an animal killed in front of her. No evidence substantiating those claims was presented during the broadcast.
“I was just trying to scream loud enough somebody would help me,” Farris said through tears.
Farris repeatedly insisted she had tried to act properly before arriving at the courthouse.
“Please, other people, let people know that I did try to do the right thing for a long time now,” she said.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro had called the vandalism “a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom. Those Americans include my father and grandfather.”
The judge disagreed enough to let her walk.
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