Jeanine Pirro suffers another blow as judge releases accused WWII Memorial vandal
Donald Trump’s top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. has twice failed to keep an alleged World War II memorial vandal in jail after government lawyers demanded that she stay behind bars while awaiting trial on two felony charges.
A federal judge rejected U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s second attempt to keep Melissa Farris in jail on Tuesday morning after he ordered her released one day earlier.
Pirro, whose job could be on the line after she delivered a stunning rebuke of the Trump administration’s attempts to prosecute a former Olympian over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, has gone to unusual lengths to keep Farris in jail for the alleged vandalism, which her office called a “brazen attack on one of the Nation’s most sacred monuments.”
Farris, according to Pirro, poses an “exceptionally high risk of flight” — which a federal judge flatly denied.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ordered her release on Monday, and he swiftly denied Pirro’s second attempt on Tuesday morning, stating that Pirro’s office “essentially just recycles the same arguments” that he rejected one day earlier.
Sharbaugh ordered Farris to remain outside D.C. and report to federal pretrial officials in Ohio pending trial. He did not impose electronic monitoring or require a third-party custodian, which prosecutors later requested.
According to a complaint filed last week, prosecutors claimed Farris, 41, had spray-painted “Clean Hands Dirty $” on the memorial and splattered paint on its stonework. She also is accused of pouring detergent into a fountain that filled it with foam and bubbles.
Farris livestreamed the incident and posted videos on social media appearing to acknowledge the vandalism.
She later turned herself into police in Virginia.
“If anyone is a flight risk, it is certainly her,” Pirro said in a statement.
The National Park Service estimated that clearing up the damage cost more than $1,000, according to prosecutors.
Pirro’s latest failure follows the implosion of several high-profile cases surrounding Trump’s controversial renovations of the nation’s capital and his federal takeover, including failed prosecutions of D.C. protesters and people accused of vandalizing newly renovated projects.
Grand juries have repeatedly declined to indict people at the center of politically loaded cases, and juries at trial have also rejected the government’s efforts to prosecute protesters caught up in the administration’s military occupation of the capital.
Weeks after she publicly accused 67-year-old Olympian David Heard of “forcefully and violently” ripping out the Reflecting Pool’s Trump-requested blue liner, Pirro filed a stunning motion to dismiss the case entirely — outraging Trump, who has spent weeks demanding prosecutors target alleged vandals despite his administration appearing to admit that the damage was caused by contractors.
In a court filing asking for charges to be dropped, Pirro’s office admitted that the sealant started to peel “almost immediately” after the work was completed. It was not until after the indictment was filed that Trump’s Department of Interior determined that the “damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism,” according to Pirro.
“She folded like an umbrella,” Trump said from the Oval Office earlier this month. “I think she choked.”
The judge overseeing that case agreed to dismiss charges against Hearn and will hold a hearing next month on whether the dismissal should be granted “with prejudice,” which would prevent the Justice Department from charging him for the same alleged conduct.
With her job apparently on the line over her repeated failure to deliver on cases that Trump wants to prosecute, Pirro is reportedly launching a special grand jury that critics fear could be weaponized to deliver spurious investigations into the president’s political enemies.
