Melissa L. Farris has been arrested and faces two federal felony charges after the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, was vandalised. The case has drawn national attention because the memorial honours Americans who served and died in the war, and President Trump publicly condemned the incident as a grave insult to them.

Authorities said a fountain was filled with bubbles and the words “Clean hands dirty $” were painted in red. The charges are depredation against US property and destruction of veterans’ memorials, each carrying a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years; the arrest followed vandalism discovered on Thursday. The incident came after Trump had alleged vandalism at the nearby Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, although earlier charges connected to that damage were dropped after officials said poor repairs were responsible.