U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro is pushing hard to keep an accused vandal of a World War II memorial behind bars.

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. Politico reported that "Pirro is going to unusual lengths" to keep her detained.

The filing describes the alleged vandalism as "a brazen attack on one of the Nation's most sacred monuments" and argues that Farris poses an "exceptionally high risk of flight."

The aggressive stance 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. Pirro said that decision was tied to the Interior Department’s slow disclosure of installation problems connected to the rushed July 4 deadline.

Trump has continued to reject her explanation, including in a Sunday post suggesting vandals damaged National Mall grass, though others blamed wear from holiday crowds. He also linked the Reflecting Pool case to the memorial vandalism, writing, "Where do these animals come from???"

Pirro posted twice on X about Farris’ arrest, calling the vandalism "a despicable attack" and noting that her father and grandfather fought in World War II. Her language echoed Trump’s earlier vow that monument vandals would face a full decade in prison with "no curtailed sentence."

According to prosecutors’ filings, Farris livestreamed the incident while soliciting donations and left signs referencing a "Ford green energy grant," along with rambling grievances about the government. She told authorities when she surrendered that she is homeless and had recently been cited for setting up a hammock in a D.C. park.

The case also highlights how U.S. attorneys weigh detention, supervision and charges in federal cases tied to public monuments, where prosecutors have to show more than the underlying allegation to keep a suspect jailed before trial. Even so, similar cases have often ended in relatively light punishment. A 2020 Lincoln Memorial vandalism case was reduced to a misdemeanor with probation. Pirro’s office also faces the challenge of securing a grand jury indictment, which it failed to do earlier this year in the case of 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 and barred her from Washington and from the memorial itself. Prosecutors’ appeal asks that if detention is denied, Farris be placed on electronic monitoring, while also arguing that she cannot be reliably supervised that way because she is homeless.