Cincinnati man convicted of vandalizing Vice President JD Vance’s home
CINCINNATI (NBC, KYMA) - A Cincinnati man was convicted Tuesday on two charges in connection with vandalizing Vice President JD Vance's home.
William DeFoor, 26, pleaded guilty to engaging in acts of physical violence against government officials or property and causing willful injury or depredation to property of the United States.
DeFoor ran along the fence at Vice President Vance's Cincinnati home, crossed the property line and swung a hammer at an unmarked secret service vehicle blocking the driveway.
Secret Service agents ordered him to stop, but DeFoor didn't.
He kept going, smashing large, historic windows across the front of the house, causing about $28,000 worth of damage to a security system.
Defoor's been behind bars ever since.
In federal court, DeFoor admitted to his crimes and pleaded guilty to two federal charges.
"My client has never denied what he did. Accepting responsibility is the first step to making it right," said Paul Laufman, DeFoor's attorney.
Howver, Laufman said the bigger question in this case isn't about what DeFoor did. It's why.
"This case got attention because of who's house it was when it should've gotten [the] attention for the mental health that's driving all of this," Laufman explained.
In court, DeFoor said he was being treated for schizophrenia and depression, and Laufman said he's not convinced his client even knew whose house he was attacking.
"I don't know that's ever been conclusively established," Laufman remarked.
DeFoor's mother, Catherine, didn't speak publicly, but previously told an NBC affiliate in Cincinnati that mental illness shaped her son's life in ways she never expected, and she wants people to know him beyond the headlines.
"Growing up, William was a scholar. He was a straight A student...got a perfect SAT score, and received a full college scholarship to study music," Catherine shared earlier this year.
DeFoor now awaits sentencing, which his attorney says is expected in about four months.
