Political Violence and Public Official Security

A federal grand jury has indicted William D. DeFoor, 26, of Cincinnati on three counts over the Jan. 5 vandalism of Vice President JD Vance’s home in Cincinnati’s East Walnut Hills neighborhood. Prosecutors allege a Secret Service team saw DeFoor run along the front fence after midnight, breach the property line armed with a hammer, try to smash the window of an unmarked Secret Service vehicle, then move toward the front of the residence and shatter 14 historic window panes, causing about $28,000 in damage to security reinforcements. The indictment charges him with damaging government property, engaging in physical violence on restricted grounds, and assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers, carrying potential penalties of up to 10 years on each of the first two counts and up to 20 years on the third. A federal judge has ordered DeFoor held without bond pending trial, while earlier state‑level vandalism and trespass charges were dropped Friday as the case shifted fully into federal court. DeFoor’s lawyer has framed the episode as a "purely mental health issue" and said it was not politically motivated, and Vance has publicly thanked the Secret Service and Cincinnati police while calling the suspect "clearly a very sick individual" and declining to ascribe a motive.