The man who smashed the windows of Vice President JD Vance’s Ohio home and vandalized his property was detained during the early hours on Monday (January 5, 2026), the U.S. Secret Service said. The suspect was identified as William DeFoor, 26.
He is facing federal charges for allegedly damaging government property, engaging in physical violence against property in a restricted area, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers, according to the United States Attorney’s office in Ohio’s southern district, news agency AP reported.
The vice president and his family were not at home, having returned to Washington on Sunday (January 4, 2025) after a weekend there, his office said. DeFoor was detained shortly after midnight by Secret Service agents assigned to Vance’s home, east of downtown Cincinnati, agency spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.
Vance expressed gratitude to the Secret Service and Cincinnati police for responding quickly to the incident in a post on the social platform X. “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.” Vance moved into the vice president’s official residence in Washington, DC, after the inauguration.
Live EventsDeFoor was accused of causing $28,000 in damage, says the affidavit
The affidavit filed on Monday revealed that the Secret Service saw a man, armed with a hammer, running along the front fence of Vance’s residence and breaching the property line around midnight, AP reported.
He vandalized an unmarked Secret Service vehicle on his way up the home’s driveway before moving toward the front of the home and breaking its glass windows. DeFoor was detained after he tried to flee from officers on foot. He is accused of causing around $28,000 in damage, the affidavit further revealed.Who was William DeFoor?
William DeFoor, the hammer-wielding alleged vandal, is allegedly the son of a prominent millionaire family, and he apparently changed his name to “Julia” in recent weeks, according to the New York Post. He allegedly shattered four windows at Vance’s home.
According to the NY Post, it’s unclear whether DeFoor identifies as transgender or nonbinary. However, he recently appeared to be posting under the name Julia DeFoor. Police listed the suspect’s name as William and his gender as male.
DeFoor lives in Cincinnati
Public records list DeFoor as living in Cincinnati, according to AP. According to The Post, his father, also named William, is a Harvard University graduate. He boasts a decades-long history as a pediatric urologist in Cincinnati. He also works as a professor at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Medicine. The family lives in a $1.3 million house in the city’s wealthy Hyde Park neighborhood.
Court records show that DeFoor faced an earlier charge of vandalism in 2024 and agreed to treatment under the county’s Mental Health Court system.
The Secret Service is coordinating with the Cincinnati Police Department and the U.S. attorney’s office as charging decisions are reviewed, Anthony Guglielmi said. Vance, a Republican, was a U.S. senator representing Ohio before becoming vice president.
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