Leftist pleads guilty to smashing, vandalizing JD Vance’s home

The hammer-wielding madman accused of smashing windows at Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home during an early January rampage formally pleaded guilty to multiple crimes. William DeFoor, 26, pleaded guilty to causing willful injury or depredation and carrying out physical violence against government officials during a Tuesday court hearing. DeFoor, who has a schizophrenia diagnosis, is staring down 30 years in prison for allegedly smashing glass windows in front of Vance’s residence and hitting security assets with a hammer.

The vandal is reportedly the son of a prominent Ohio millionaire family — and appears to have been going by “Julia” on social media. “Acts of violence directed against our political leaders, their families, or property, have no place in our society and will not be tolerated,” US attorney Dominick Gerace II said about the guilty plea. “Our elected leaders, at all levels of government, must be permitted to carry out their duties free from threats, vandalism, and other forms of violence,” Gerace added. “Perpetrators like DeFoor, who put that freedom at risk, particularly through violent, destructive actions, will, like here, be vigorously prosecuted.”

DeFoor’s father, named William, is a successful Harvard University graduate, a pediatric urologist in Cincinnati and professor at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Medicine.

The elder DeFoor donated thousands to Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign in 2024 and lives in a $1.3 million house in the tony Hyde Park neighborhood. His mother, Catherine, stressed that DeFoor suffered from mental illness. “Mental illness is a terrible thing. It is a struggle which can take over the life of a beautiful person,” she said in a statement. “Unfortunately, for our child, it has taken over his life in a way that we never could have imagined.”

In the wee night hours on Jan. 5, DeFoor was caught by Secret Service agents breaching the property line at Vance’s residence and smashing the window of an unmarked law enforcement vehicle, according to prosecutors. Authorities told DeFoor to drop his hammer and stop, but he ignored them and instead began busting “historic glass windows” on Vance’s property, per the feds. Ultimately, he attempted to flee on foot but was nabbed by the Secret Service.

The damage done to the windows totaled an estimated $28,000, according to the Justice Department. The Vances were not at the house at the time of the attack. After President Trump’s victory in 2024, the Vances moved into the vice president’s official residence at the Naval Observatory in DC, which is about 2.5 miles away from the White House.

DeFoor has a rap sheet, which includes a two-year mandatory health treatment sentence for vandalism at an interior design company. He was also hit with charges for trespassing at the UC Health psychiatric and emergency services.

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