A man who broke windows at Vice President JD Vance’s Ohio home was detained early Monday, the U.S. Secret Service said.
The Secret Service said William D. DeFoor, 26, was detained shortly after midnight by Secret Service agents assigned to Vance’s home east of downtown Cincinnati. The vice president and his family were not at home, having returned to Washington on Sunday after a weekend there, according to Vance’s office and the Secret Service.
In an affidavit filed Monday, the Secret Service said it saw a man running along the front fence of Vance’s residence and breaching the property line around midnight. The affidavit said the man was armed with a hammer and vandalized an unmarked Secret Service vehicle on his way up the home’s driveway before moving toward the front of the home and breaking its glass windows.
The Secret Service said DeFoor was detained after he tried to flee from officers on foot. The affidavit accused DeFoor of causing around $28,000 in damage.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Ohio’s southern district said DeFoor is facing federal charges for allegedly damaging government property, engaging in physical violence against property in a restricted area, and assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the agency was coordinating with the Cincinnati Police Department and the U.S. attorney’s office as charging decisions are reviewed.
Vance posted on X on Monday, saying, “I appreciate everyone’s well wishes about the attack at our home,” and adding, “As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows.”
Public records list DeFoor as living in Cincinnati. Court records cited by the article said DeFoor faced an earlier vandalism charge in 2024 and agreed to treatment under the county’s Mental Health Court system.
The Vance home is located in one of Cincinnati’s oldest neighborhoods on hills overlooking the city, where protesters have often gathered outside the residence, the report said.
This article has been updated to correct the suspect’s listed residency to Cincinnati, not Kentucky.
Associated Press writers Mike Balsamo, Sarah Brumfield and Julie Carr Smyth contributed to this report.