CINCINNATI — A man has been arrested after Cincinnati police and U.S. Secret Service police were investigating damage at Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home early Monday morning.
A CPD arrest report identifies the man as 26-year-old William Defoor. Defoor is facing one count of criminal damaging, one count of obstructing official business, one count of criminal trespass and one felony count of vandalism.
The arrest report says Defoor was seen by a Secret Service agent and captured on surveillance footage walking onto Vance’s property and damaging four windows in the home and a vehicle owned by the Secret Service.
A WCPO crew at the scene saw several officers from both agencies searching around Vance’s home in the early morning hours Monday morning; several windows in the house appeared to be broken.
Adam Schrand
Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, told us a man is being held on local charges, but federal charges could also be filed; Guglielmi said the man is being interviewed by Secret Service agents and the agency will present its findings to the U.S. Attorney for any federal charging considerations.
Members of the Secret Service heard a loud noise at the home around midnight and found the man had broken a window with a hammer and was trying to get into the house, two law enforcement officials who were not authorized to discuss the investigation told the Associated Press.
You can see the damage and police investigation in the video below:
Law enforcement investigate at Vice President JD Vance’s home, 1 in custody
The AP also reports the man vandalized a Secret Service vehicle on his way up the home’s driveway.
It doesn’t appear Vance or his family were home at the time of the incident; the City of Cincinnati previously announced that roads around the house would be closed until Sunday, Jan. 4.
Those barricades were not in place when our crew went to the scene Monday morning.
Later Monday morning, just before 10 a.m., Vance wrote on social media that he is grateful to the secret service and the Cincinnati police for their quick response.
“I appreciate everyone’s well wishes about the attack at our home,” Vance wrote. “As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows. I’m grateful to the secret service and the Cincinnati police for responding quickly. We weren’t even home, as we had returned already to DC. One request to the media: we try to protect our kids as much as possible from the realities of this life of public service. In that light, I am skeptical of the news value of plastering images of our home with holes in the windows.”
I appreciate everyone’s well wishes about the attack at our home. As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows. I’m grateful to the secret service and the Cincinnati police for responding quickly. We weren’t even home as we had returned…
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 5, 2026