A man accused of arriving at Vice President JD Vance’s Ohio residence armed with a hammer has admitted to federal charges, following court filings in which his attorneys pointed to a long record of mental health challenges, including a schizophrenia diagnosis.
William D. DeFoor, 26, pleaded guilty to committing acts of physical violence against government officials and deliberately damaging property belonging to the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Ohio said Tuesday.
DeFoor, previously reported by Our News Outlet as the child of two affluent physicians and as someone who may identify as transgender, drew national attention earlier this year after authorities said he forced his way onto Vance’s property.
Secret Service agents took DeFoor into custody in the early morning hours of January 5 after he ran along the front fence outside Vance’s $1.4 million Cincinnati home. Vance and his family were in Washington, D.C., when the incident unfolded.
According to officials, DeFoor tried to smash the driver’s-side window of an unmarked federal law enforcement vehicle, repeatedly hitting the glass with a hammer.
Charging documents say he then kept swinging the hammer at windows on Vance’s home and ignored officers’ repeated commands to put the weapon down.
Federal prosecutors said the attack caused an estimated $28,000 in damage to U.S. government-owned property.
“Acts of violence directed against our political leaders, their families, or property, have no place in our society and will not be tolerated. 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,” U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II said after the guilty plea.
William DeFoor, 26, has pleaded guilty to engaging in acts of physical violence against government officials and causing willful injury to property of the US. He is pictured above in court at a hearing in January
DeFoor breached JD Vance’s property in Ohio and smashed an estimated $28,000 worth of government property, according to prosecutors
William DeFoor, 26, (pictured in his mugshot) was detained by police officers and Secret Service agents after attempting to flee the scene. He was later apprehended and placed in custody
‘Perpetrators like DeFoor, who put that freedom at risk, particularly through violent, destructive actions, will, like here, be vigorously prosecuted.’
DeFoor’s attorneys previously said that his actions had ‘nothing to do with the specifics of the vice president’ and were not politically motivated.
His mother, Catherine DeFoor, said in a media statement in January that mental illness was a ‘terrible thing.’
‘It is a struggle which can take over the life of a beautiful person and the people who love and support them,’ she said.
‘Unfortunately for our child, it has taken over his life in a way that we can never have imagined.’
Defense attorneys cited a history of crimes associated with DeFoor’s mental illness. In 2023, he was charged with trespassing at the University of Cincinnati Health Psychiatric Emergency Services.
The court ruled DeFoor incompetent to stand trial, and the case was dismissed. A year later, he was charged with two counts of vandalism after breaking windows at a local business. A court ordered him to receive treatment.
His mother was later granted legal guardianship over him after he was found incompetent by reason of mental illness.
Our News Outlet previously revealed that DeFoor has apparently transitioned to female and goes by the name Julia
DeFoor’s lawyers previously claimed that he should be released from custody pending trial due to his mental health struggles.
‘Mr. DeFoor’s alleged offense conduct was using a hammer to damage two windows and a car and refusing to listen to the orders of Secret Service Agents,’ defense attorneys argued in a motion to release DeFoor.
‘Put more succinctly, while in the midst of an ongoing mental health crisis a young person damaged property and did not listen to someone shouting at him.’
‘These circumstances are only noteworthy for one reason; it just so happens that this occurred at the home of the Vice President,’ his legal reps added.
Defense attorneys argued that detention would normally never be considered in a vandalism case, adding that prosecutors acknowledged there was no evidence the attack was political.
‘While in the midst of a mental health crisis, Mr. DeFoor used a hammer to damage a home and a car. This is not the behavior of an inherently violent person, merely a person in crisis,’ defense attorneys argued.
Police and Secret Service agents were seen surrounding the property shortly after the break-in
The incident occurred outside of Vance’s $1.4 million Cincinnati home. The vice president and his family were in Washington DC at the time
DeFoor’s attorneys detailed his diagnosis of schizophrenia and his past history in and out of medical facilities.
Our News Outlet previously reported that DeFoor attended an elite $27,000-a-year Catholic high school and appeared to have transitioned to female, now going by the name Julia.
A Facebook profile under the name Julia DeFoor was created a month before the incident.
The Cincinnati native grew up in the affluent Hyde Park neighborhood in a $1.3 million home with his surgeon father, William, and pediatrician mother, Catherine, and two younger siblings, Libby and Alex.
William is a pediatric urologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. His wife is a general pediatrician at a St Elizabeth Physicians primary care facility in Kentucky.
DeFoor does not appear to have graduated from a traditional four-year university, despite excelling as a high schooler at The Summit Country Day School, a prestigious private school in Cincinnati.
William DeFoor is the son of two doctors, William and Catherine, pictured above. William is a pediatric urologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. His wife is a general pediatrician
William DeFoor is pictured furthest left with his father William Sr, sister and brother in an undated photo
His attorneys noted in a motion that he spent time in a locked-door mental health facility after his 2024 arrest and found a successful treatment regimen.
DeFoor managed his symptoms and started working on his bachelor’s degree until they returned in December 2025.
Judge Douglas R Cole denied DeFoor’s request to await trial at his parents’ home, and he has remained in detention.
The US Attorney’s Office said a sentencing hearing will come at a later date. He faces up to 10 years in prison for the crimes.
Our News Outlet has reached out to DeFoor’s representation for comment.
