Man who broke windows at JD Vance’s Ohio home is detained, the Secret Service says

One person is in custody following an alleged incident at U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s home in Cincinnati, Ohio.

CINCINNATI -- A man who broke windows at U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s Ohio home and caused other property damage was detained early Monday, the U.S. Secret Service said.

William D. DeFoor, 26, 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, according to the United States Attorney’s office in Ohio’s southern district.

DeFoor was detained shortly after midnight by Secret Service agents assigned to Vance’s home, east of downtown Cincinnati, agency spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. The vice president and his family were not at home, having returned to Washington on Sunday after a weekend there, his office said.

The Secret Service saw a man running along the front fence of Vance’s residence and breach the property line around midnight, according to an affidavit filed Monday. 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 affidavit says.

DeFoor was detained after he tried to flee from officers on foot. He is accused of causing around US$28,000 in damage, the affidavit says.

Public records list DeFoor as living in Cincinnati. Calls to the listings for possible relatives and an attorney who previously represented Defoor were not immediately returned.

Vance expressed gratitude to the Secret Service and Cincinnati police for responding quickly to the incident in a post on the social platform X.

“I appreciate everyone’s well wishes about the attack at our home,” Vance tweeted. “As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows.”

Court records show that DeFoor faced an earlier charge of vandalism in 2024 and agreed to treatment under the county’s Mental Health Court system.

The Secret Service is coordinating with the Cincinnati Police Department and the U.S. attorney’s office as charging decisions are reviewed, Guglielmi said.

The Vance home is located in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, on hills overlooking the city. Throughout Vance’s vice presidency, protesters have often gathered outside the home -- clashing at one point last spring with Vance himself.

Vance, a Republican, was a U.S. senator representing Ohio before becoming vice president. He moved to Cincinnati after a stint in Silicon Valley following law school, and his half brother ran unsuccessfully for mayor there last year. Vance was raised in nearby Middletown, which figured heavily in his bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”

By Alanna Durkin Richer And Kathy Mccormack, The Associated Press.

Associated Press writers Mike Balsamo, Sarah Brumfield and Julie Carr Smyth contributed to this report.