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The suspect charged with vandalizing the Cincinnati home of Vice President JD Vance was not politically motivated, according to his defense attorney.
During a court appearance on Tuesday, defense attorney Paul Laufman insisted the actions of 26-year-old William DeFoor “had nothing to do with the specifics of the vice president,” and were instead related to mental health.
“I just don’t think there’s anything political going on. This is purely a mental health issue,” Laufman said, describing DeFoor as someone who writes “peaceful” poetry.
A judge set DeFoor’s bond at $11,000 for four non-federal charges of vandalism, criminal trespass, criminal damaging or endangering and obstructing official business.
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William DeFoor, 26, appears in court on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, for non-federal charges in connection with the vandalism of Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home. (WXIX)
DeFoor was set to appear in federal court later Tuesday on federal charges of damaging government property, engaging in physical violence against any person or property in a restricted building or grounds, and assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.
William DeFoor, 26, was taken into custody after allegedly damaging property at Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. Secret Service and police responded quickly. (Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office)
DeFoor is accused of running along the front fence of Vance’s protected residence before breaching the property line at the driveway, according to an affidavit filed Monday. He was allegedly wielding a hammer and attempted to break the driver’s side window of an unmarked federal law enforcement vehicle blocking the driveway entrance.
DeFoor ignored all commands to stop and drop the weapon, according to charging documents, and used the hammer to break glass windows across the front of the home.
The residence was unoccupied, and Vance and his family were not in the state at the time of the incident, the U.S. Secret Service said Monday. (WXIX)
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Enhanced security assets on each window were damaged from the hammer strikes. The assets, which are owned by the U.S. government, are valued at more than $28,000, prosecutors said.
DeFoor allegedly tried to run away before Secret Service agents and Cincinnati police officers detained him.
When DeFoor was arrested, he demanded to be called “Julia,” FBI sources told Fox News.
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Court records show DeFoor has faced multiple criminal cases in Hamilton County in recent years, with each proceeding intersecting with findings related to his mental competency.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.