The 26-year-old man accused of vandalizing Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home was indicted on federal charges Wednesday.William DeFoor, 26, was indicted on federal charges including act of physical violence in restricted building/grounds, willful injury or depredation of property of the U.S. and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employee. A federal judge has ordered DeFoor to remain in jail and receive psychiatric care.During a detention hearing on Tuesday, federal prosecutors argued that DeFoor should stay in jail while the case proceeds through the judicial system. DeFoor’s attorney requested his release to a psychiatric hospital.Inside the courtroom, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy stated, “His intended target was the vice president of the United States.”Muncy explained that DeFoor walked more than an hour and a half from his parents’ Hyde Park home to the vice president’s house, carrying a backpack with a hammer, which he allegedly used to smash multiple windows at the Vance residence. Muncy emphasized that DeFoor passed hundreds of houses, and no other homes along the route were targeted.Prosecutors also presented writings found in a journal during a Secret Service search of DeFoor’s home, which read in part, “Freedom is a cage and all the world is a stage,” ending with the warning, “Now you will never see me again.” Prosecutors argued these words raised serious concerns.Defense attorney Paul Laufman urged the judge to view the case through the lens of mental illness rather than politics.”I don’t think this is a political case,” Laufman said, describing DeFoor as a “beautiful soul suffering from significant mental illness.”Laufman requested DeFoor’s release to a psychiatric hospital with electronic monitoring, highlighting his achievements as a gifted student who earned a perfect ACT score and a full college scholarship before schizophrenia emerged in early adulthood. He also noted that there were many writings in DeFoor’s journal, but the government seemed to focus only on one.Judge Stephanie Bowman acknowledged DeFoor’s need for psychiatric care but expressed concerns about releasing him from jail, noting his escalating criminal behavior from breaking a window at a Hyde Park business in 2024 to allegedly targeting the vice president’s house. She ordered that DeFoor remain detained but receive psychiatric care while in jail.
CINCINNATI —
The 26-year-old man accused of vandalizing Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home was indicted on federal charges Wednesday.
William DeFoor, 26, was indicted on federal charges including act of physical violence in restricted building/grounds, willful injury or depredation of property of the U.S. and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employee.
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#Breaking William DeFoor, 26 yo accused of vandalizing Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home, was just indicted on Federal charges including:
-Act of physical violence in restricted building/grounds
-Willful injury or depredation of property of the U.S.
-Assaulting, resisting… pic.twitter.com/t8vJVSVM6m
— Karin Johnson WLWT (@karinjohnson) January 14, 2026
A federal judge has ordered DeFoor to remain in jail and receive psychiatric care.
During a detention hearing on Tuesday, federal prosecutors argued that DeFoor should stay in jail while the case proceeds through the judicial system. DeFoor’s attorney requested his release to a psychiatric hospital.
Inside the courtroom, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy stated, “His intended target was the vice president of the United States.”
Muncy explained that DeFoor walked more than an hour and a half from his parents’ Hyde Park home to the vice president’s house, carrying a backpack with a hammer, which he allegedly used to smash multiple windows at the Vance residence. Muncy emphasized that DeFoor passed hundreds of houses, and no other homes along the route were targeted.
Prosecutors also presented writings found in a journal during a Secret Service search of DeFoor’s home, which read in part, “Freedom is a cage and all the world is a stage,” ending with the warning, “Now you will never see me again.” Prosecutors argued these words raised serious concerns.
Defense attorney Paul Laufman urged the judge to view the case through the lens of mental illness rather than politics.
“I don’t think this is a political case,” Laufman said, describing DeFoor as a “beautiful soul suffering from significant mental illness.”
Laufman requested DeFoor’s release to a psychiatric hospital with electronic monitoring, highlighting his achievements as a gifted student who earned a perfect ACT score and a full college scholarship before schizophrenia emerged in early adulthood. He also noted that there were many writings in DeFoor’s journal, but the government seemed to focus only on one.
Judge Stephanie Bowman acknowledged DeFoor’s need for psychiatric care but expressed concerns about releasing him from jail, noting his escalating criminal behavior from breaking a window at a Hyde Park business in 2024 to allegedly targeting the vice president’s house. She ordered that DeFoor remain detained but receive psychiatric care while in jail.