Man allegedly vandalized Vance home due to mental health issues, not politics, lawyer says

CINCINNATI — The Ohio man accused of vandalizing Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home has a “mental health issue” and the alleged property attack wasn’t intended to be a political statement, his lawyer and family said Tuesday.

William D. DeFoor, 26, faces federal and local charges stemming from the vandalism that unfolded at about 12:15 a.m. Monday in Ohio, while Vance and his wife were in Washington, D.C.

DeFoor made his first appearance on local charges on Tuesday and Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Janaya Trotter Bratton set his bond at $11,000.

Hours later, he appeared in federal court and was ordered to remain in custody until a detention hearing Friday.

The suspect’s mother, Catherine DeFoor, said her son was a straight -A student who plays multiple instruments.

“Mental illness is a terrible thing,” she said in a statement to reporters outside federal court. “It is a struggle which can take over the life of a beautiful person and the people who love and support them. Unfortunately for our child, it has taken over his life in a way that we can never have imagined.”

Defense attorney Paul Laufman insisted his client’s actions were not politically motivated, saying Monday’s attack “had nothing to do with the specifics of the vice president.”

DeFoor writes “peaceful” poetry, according to Laufman, who added: “I just don’t think there’s anything political going on. This is purely a mental health issue.”

Vance’s Ohio home is protected by federal authorities. DeFoor first tried breaking windows of a Secret Service car that was blocking the Vance driveway, according to a criminal complaint written by Gavin Hartsell, assistant special agent in charge FBI’s Cincinnati office.

An agent yelled “police” and “Secret Service” with “loud clear commands to stop and drop the weapon,” initially believed to be a hatchet, the complaint claimed.

“DeFoor ignored all commands and began to use a hammer to break glass windows” across the front of Vance’s home, according to the court document.

“DeFoor broke multiple glass panels in three large, historic windows,” the complaint said.

The suspect dropped the hammer and fled before being taken into custody.

His hammer strikes on a driver’s side window of the Secret Service car caused “marks and abrasions on the glass” and “inspection also revealed 14 individual panels of glass fully broken across three larger windows on the front of the protected residence,” according to special agent Hartsell.

“DeFoor’s hammer strikes also caused damage to the enhanced security assets on each window owned by the U.S. government and valued over $28,000,” Hartsell added.

Catherine DeFoor thanked city police officers and Secret Service agents for “their problem solving” and “ability to stay calm and professional” during their interactions with the suspect Monday.

“They have stressful jobs,” she said. “They’re frequently faced with very unpredictable scenarios.”

Will Ujek reported from Cincinnati, Ava Kelly and Selina Guevara from Chicago and David K. Li from New York City.