U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro is pushing exceedingly hard to keep an accused World War II memorial vandal behind bars.
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After Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh declined prosecutors’ request to delay suspect Melissa Farris’ release, the U.S. attorney’s office filed a 30-page appeal within three hours, asking Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to overturn the ruling, and Politico reported that “Pirro is going to unusual lengths” to keep her locked up.
The filing calls the alleged vandalism “a brazen attack on one of the Nation’s most sacred monuments” and argues Farris poses an “exceptionally high risk of flight.”
The aggressive posture comes weeks after Trump publicly rebuked Pirro for dropping charges against former Olympian David Hearn over alleged damage to the Reflecting Pool’s newly installed lining — a decision Pirro attributed to the Interior Department’s slow disclosure of installation problems tied to the rushed July 4 deadline.
Trump has kept rejecting her explanation, including a Sunday post suggesting vandals damaged National Mall grass, though others blamed holiday-crowd wear. He also linked the Reflecting Pool episode to the memorial vandalism, writing, “Where do these animals come from???”
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Pirro personally posted twice on X about Farris’ arrest, calling the vandalism “a despicable attack” and noting her father and grandfather fought in World War II. Her rhetoric echoed Trump’s past vow that monument vandals would face a full decade in prison with “no curtailed sentence.”
Prosecutors’ filings note Farris livestreamed the incident while soliciting donations and left signs referencing a “Ford green energy grant,” alongside rambling grievances about the government. She told authorities upon surrendering that she is homeless and had recently been cited for setting up a hammock in a D.C. park.
Despite the harsh charging language, similar cases have historically ended in light sentences — a Lincoln Memorial vandalism case from 2020 was reduced to a misdemeanor with probation. Pirro’s office also faces the hurdle of securing a grand jury indictment, something it failed to do earlier this year against Sean Dunn, the man accused of throwing a sandwich at a federal agent, who was later acquitted at trial.
Sharbaugh ordered Farris released on her own recognizance, barring her from Washington and the memorial itself. Prosecutors’ appeal asks that if detention is denied, Farris be placed on electronic monitoring — while simultaneously arguing she can’t be reliably supervised that way because she’s homeless.
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