The man accused of attacking Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home finally faced a judge Tuesday, and the details coming out of court only make the incident more disturbing. William DeFoor, 26, appeared for his first court appearance on a slate of state charges after allegedly smashing windows with a hammer during an overnight attack on Vance’s East Walnut Hills residence.
DeFoor is facing state counts of vandalism, criminal damaging, and trespassing. A judge set his bond at $11,000. Prosecutors say the damage from the rampage totaled roughly $28,000, not exactly pocket change, even in a well-heeled Cincinnati neighborhood.
According to authorities, DeFoor used a hammer to smash multiple windows at the vice president’s home in the early morning hours and then attempted to break the window of a federal agent’s vehicle parked nearby. That last detail is important, because this was not just property damage. That is an attack brushing right up against federal officers. Vance and his family were not home at the time, which is the only reason this did not turn into something far worse.
Prosecutors allege DeFoor refused commands from agents to drop the hammer and tried to flee before being taken into custody. That behavior is now the basis for additional federal charges, including damaging government property and assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers. If convicted on those federal counts, DeFoor could be looking at decades behind bars.
In court, DeFoor’s defense attorney tried to get ahead of the narrative, telling the judge that he and the Secret Service spent “hours” discussing the incident and insisting it had nothing to do with politics. Instead, the attorney claimed this was purely a mental health issue. That explanation raised eyebrows, especially given that DeFoor has recently gone by “Julia” on social media, leading many observers to view the attack as the latest example of radicalized transgender activism boiling over into violence against Republicans.
Officials have not publicly released a motive, but DeFoor’s history does not inspire confidence. According to WLWT, a trespassing case against him in 2023 was dropped after he was found not competent to stand trial. About a year later, he was ordered into treatment after allegedly vandalizing a business in Hyde Park, the affluent neighborhood where he grew up. This was not a clean record that suddenly went sideways.
The media will likely tread carefully here, bending over backwards to avoid uncomfortable questions about political extremism, mental illness, or ideological radicalization. If the target had been a Democrat, the tone would already be very different.
DeFoor is scheduled for a 9 a.m. arraignment, with a separate court date for the federal charges still pending. One thing is already clear. Attacking the home of the vice president with a hammer is not a misunderstanding, not a protest, and not something to be brushed aside with excuses.
Political violence is political violence, no matter who commits it. And when it keeps happening in one direction, pretending not to notice stops being ignorance and starts looking like complicity.