A Kentucky woman allegedly livestreamed herself vandalizing the National World War II Memorial before asking viewers to edit the footage, “make me look fancy,” and spread it across the internet.
Melissa Farris, 41, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, was charged on August 14 with depredation against property of the United States and destruction of a veterans’ memorial.
Each federal felony carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, although the charges remain allegations and Farris has not been convicted.
Farris maintained public Facebook and Instagram accounts under the name Melissa Lovewell. A screenshot included in the federal criminal complaint showed her Facebook account with 878 followers, where she described herself as a digital creator.
Facebook livestream helped investigators identify Farris
US Park Police were called to the World War II Memorial at around 2 PM on August 13 after receiving a report of a disorderly person.
According to the complaint, a Park Ranger found foam filling part of the Atlantic Pavilion fountain and saw a woman recording herself as people gathered around her. The woman allegedly fled after realizing the ranger was approaching.
Investigators found orange paint spelling out “Clean Hands Dirty $” on a wall, along with green paint and pink paint splattered across the ground. The preliminary cost of cleaning and restoring the memorial exceeded $1,000.
A witness photographed the woman allegedly spray-painting the memorial. One officer recognized her as Farris because Park Police had arrested her three days earlier for unlawfully camping on federal property several blocks away.
Farris also livestreamed that earlier arrest through her social media accounts, according to investigators.
Police subsequently reviewed Farris’ public Facebook and Instagram activity and found several videos recorded before, during, and after the alleged vandalism.
In a Facebook livestream recorded beforehand, Farris said she was “cognitively aware” of her choices and claimed she was attempting to push an unspecified whistleblower case into a courtroom.
“I am accountable for the things that I do and the choices that I make, and our government needs to be accountable for their choices too,” she said.
Footage compiled by Fox 5 DC reporter Stephanie Ramirez appears to show Farris filming the foam-filled fountain and painted memorial before admitting, “It was me.”
At 3:58 PM, Farris posted another video asking her small audience to edit and distribute the livestream.
“Anybody watching this, please make an edit of the live, highlight the good parts, make me look fancy, get it all over the internet,” she said. “Why the f*** didn’t I get arrested? You don’t think that’s weird?”
Farris later said she had been “allowed to deface federal property” without anyone intervening. In a subsequent Instagram Story, she predicted that police would soon come for her and asked for the encounter to be recorded.
On the morning of August 14, Farris livestreamed herself walking into the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, to turn herself in.
She made an initial court appearance that afternoon before a judge approved transferring the case to Washington, DC. According to 7News, Farris remained in custody ahead of a preliminary and detention hearing scheduled for August 17.
Online footage has previously helped authorities investigate people who allegedly recorded their own actions, including a Kick streamer fined for carving the platform’s name into a Grand Canyon landmark and a YouTuber accused of pepper-spraying a man to generate views.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
