William D. DeFoor, 26, faces federal and local charges after an incident involving property damage at Vice President JD Vance's Cincinnati home early Monday morning. The Vice President and his family were not present at the residence during the event. Secret Service personnel detained DeFoor at the scene, who was subsequently transferred to Cincinnati Police custody.
Incident Details
The incident occurred around 12:15 a.m. on Monday. According to a criminal complaint filed by Gavin Hartsell, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Cincinnati office, DeFoor initially attempted to damage windows of a Secret Service vehicle positioned to block the Vance driveway. Secret Service agents reportedly issued verbal commands for DeFoor to stop and drop a perceived weapon, which was initially believed to be a hatchet. The complaint states that DeFoor did not comply with these commands and proceeded to use a hammer to break multiple glass panels across three large windows at the front of the residence. After damaging the property, DeFoor dropped the hammer and departed the immediate vicinity before being taken into custody by Secret Service personnel.
Damage Assessment
Special Agent Hartsell reported that hammer strikes caused marks and abrasions on a driver's side window of the Secret Service vehicle. An inspection of the residence revealed that 14 individual glass panels were broken across three windows. The hammer strikes also caused damage to enhanced security assets on each window, with the total damage valued at over $28,000.
Legal Proceedings and Defense Statement
DeFoor made his initial appearance on local charges in Hamilton County Municipal Court on Tuesday. Judge Janaya Trotter Bratton set his bond at $11,000.
Defense attorney Paul Laufman stated in court that his client's actions were not politically motivated. Laufman asserted that the incident "had nothing to do with the specifics of the vice president" and characterized the situation as "purely a mental health issue." He also mentioned that DeFoor writes poetry.
Property Information
Vice President Vance and his wife, Usha, acquired the home in Cincinnati’s East Walnut Hills neighborhood for approximately $1.4 million in 2018. The neighborhood is situated along the Ohio River, east of downtown Cincinnati. The residence was unoccupied at the time of the incident, and Vice President Vance and his family were not in Ohio.