A suspect has been arrested and will be charged in connection with the vandalism of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. Melissa L. Farris will be charged with “Depredation Against Property of the United States and Destruction of Veterans’ Memorials," according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who announced the arrest on Friday on her X account. The offenses carry penalties of up to ten years in prison. The Memorial, one of the most popular in Washington, was vandalized with bubbles filling a fountain and “Clean hands dirty $” written in red paint. The vandalism comes weeks after President Donald Trump said the nearby Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was deliberately damaged.
Dam West Beach at Lake Shelbyville will be closed until further notice due to vandalism and unsanitary conditions in its bathroom facilities.
In April, President Donald Trump announced that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was being renovated to address long-standing cosmetic and structural issues. He initially promised a gleaming blue pool that would be fixed in a week at a cost of $1.5 million, much less than what previous administrations had paid for work on the national landmark. But four months later the results of the project have not lived up to Trump’s rhetoric, which has in some cases become increasingly hyperbolic.
President Donald Trump says U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” in moving to drop charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Trump ducked questions Monday about whether he'd fire Pirro but kept up his drumbeat of criticism toward her. The move to dismiss charges against David Hearn was an embarrassing setback for the Justice Department and marked a rare moment during Trump’s second term of an aide or political appointee openly defying him. Trump first posted about the development on social media over the weekend, saying, “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro.” Hours after his comments Monday, Pirro was spotted at the White House.
President Donald Trump is sharply criticizing U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro after her assessment that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool following a recent renovation was caused by shoddy construction rather than vandals. On Friday, Pirro moved to drop charges against former Olympian David Hearn, accused of vandalizing the pool. Trump argued anew on Saturday that the damage was caused by vandals. But Pirro, a Trump appointee, said in a court filing that the damage was due to a botched installation of a new liner ahead of the America 250 celebrations. Trump also posted a video on Saturday that he claims shows vandalism, but the footage is unclear.
The Justice Department has moved to dismiss a criminal case charging a former Olympian with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Government lawyers said in a 20-page court filing Friday evening that information provided since the indictment of David Hearn shows that the damage was the result of a “flawed installation by the contractor” as well as “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026.” Hearn’s lawyers say the case against him should never have been brought.
A judge in the nation’s capital has set a September trial date for a former Olympic canoe racer charged with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman scheduled a Sept. 28 trial for David Hearn during a hearing Monday. A grand jury indicted Hearn on a felony count of property destruction. Hearn has pleaded not guilty. The case against the Bethesda, Maryland, resident stems from a troubled multimillion-dollar renovation project championed by President Donald Trump, a Republican who claims vandals have damaged the pool. Hearn and his supporters say his prosecution is a politically motivated attempt by the Trump administration to scapegoat him.
It's been two years since a piece of the Decatur 9/11 memorial went missing. The Decatur Park District believed it had been thrown in Lake Decatur, but they were never able to find it.
New court filings accuse the owner of the Wyndham in Springfield of intentionally vandalizing his own hotel, causing serious water damage to t…
New court filings accuse the owner of the Wyndham in Springfield of intentionally vandalizing his own hotel, causing serious water damage to the property.