Transgender Suspect Pleads Guilty, Faces Years in Prison for Attack Near JD Vance’s Home

A hammer-wielding suspect who stormed the area around Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home has pleaded guilty to federal charges after an early-morning attack that damaged government property and sent Secret Service agents rushing in.

William D. DeFoor, 26, pleaded guilty to engaging in acts of physical violence against government officials and causing willful injury to property of the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

The Elite Media evening news has made complete omission of the guilty plea in the case of the Ohio man accused of vandalizing Vice President JD Vance's Cincinnati-area home. Here is NBC's brief report from the day the suspect had his initial court appearance:

TOM LLAMAS: We are… pic.twitter.com/pv809V8Zff

— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) September 3, 2026

The January incident drew national attention after DeFoor breached the perimeter of Vance’s $1.4 million Ohio property while carrying a hammer. The vice president and his family were in Washington at the time.

Secret Service agents stopped him in the early hours of January 5 after he ran along the front fence. Charging documents say he repeatedly struck the driver’s-side window of an unmarked federal vehicle, then turned to windows at the home and refused commands to drop the weapon.

Prosecutors put the damage to government-owned property at about $28,000.

U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II did not mince words. “Acts of violence directed against our political leaders, their families, or property, have no place in our society and will not be tolerated,” he said. “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.”

Defense attorneys have argued the episode was not a political hit and “had nothing to do with the specifics of the vice president.” They pointed instead to a long mental-health history, including a schizophrenia diagnosis and prior treatment in psychiatric facilities.

His mother, Catherine DeFoor, has described that struggle as something that “can take over the life of a beautiful person and the people who love and support them.” She added, “Unfortunately for our child, it has taken over his life in a way that we can never have imagined.”

Court records show earlier trouble, including a 2023 trespassing case at a psychiatric emergency service that was later dismissed after he was found incompetent, and 2024 vandalism charges after windows were broken at a local business. His mother was later granted legal guardianship.

Attorneys previously sought his release, writing that he used a hammer to damage two windows and a car and refused Secret Service orders “while in the midst of an ongoing mental health crisis.” They argued the conduct was “noteworthy” mainly because it happened at the vice president’s home.

Reporting cited in coverage of the case said DeFoor appeared to have transitioned and used the name Julia, with a Facebook profile under that name created about a month before the attack. He grew up in Cincinnati’s Hyde Park neighborhood as the child of two doctors.

Judge Douglas R. Cole denied a request that he await trial at his parents’ home. Sentencing has not yet been set. Whatever the final term, prosecutors made one point clear: attacking a vice president’s residence will be treated as more than a “crisis” footnote.