A month after authorities say a mentally ill man walked more than three miles to smash windows at Vice President JD Vance’s house, no evidence has been made public indicating that it was politically motivated.
Federal prosecutors say in court documents that 26-year-old William DeFoor had one objective: “To attack the home of the vice president.” But the reason DeFoor walked from the house in Hyde Park where he was living with his parents to Vance’s East Walnut Hills home remains unknown.
Because there is no evidence pointing to anything besides a mental health issue, DeFoor’s attorney has asked a federal judge to transfer him from jail to a secure psychiatric hospital, then possibly home under court supervision, while the case is pending.
Prosecutors opposed that request in documents filed Feb. 10 in federal court in Cincinnati. A hearing about DeFoor’s detention is scheduled for Feb. 18.
Prosecutors argue that DeFoor’s actions were deliberate and intentional. He wore gloves and carried only a black backpack with a hammer inside. He left his electronic devices at home. And he ignored hundreds of homes before targeting the vice president’s house.
Vandalism at JD Vance’s house
Shortly after midnight on Jan. 5, authorities say DeFoor used the hammer to strike a Secret Service vehicle parked in the driveway and multiple glass panels at Vance’s house. Vance and his family were not there at the time. DeFoor was arrested soon afterward.
In a motion to revoke the order of detention, DeFoor’s attorney, Paul Laufman, said DeFoor was “a delusional young man in the midst of a mental health crisis.” Laufman added that DeFoor “likely could not understand what he or those around him were doing.”
Laufman has proposed holding DeFoor in a lockdown hospital for 90 days. While there, his schizophrenia could be treated while he also undergoes tests to determine his competency to stand trial and whether he can use a not guilty by reason of insanity defense.
If DeFoor is found to be stabilized mentally, he should be released under court supervision while the case is pending, Laufman said. But if his mental health status warrants further hospitalization, the court could order that, instead.
Prosecutors say DeFoor is a flight risk and a danger to the community. Among evidence that he is a flight risk, prosecutors say he previously left a mental health facility against medical advice.
Prosecutors also focused on a poem from DeFoor’s journal:
“Freedom is a cageAnd all the world’s a stage …I thought you were my only friendBut now you’ll never see me again!”
‘Slow decline’ began in college
The motions filed by Laufman and prosecutors give new details about DeFoor’s background. The Enquirer reviewed the documents along with other records to learn more about him.
The oldest of three siblings, DeFoor was raised in Mount Lookout and Hyde Park.
After graduating from the Summit Country Day School in 2018, he attended the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music on a full scholarship, his mother has previously said, with the goal of becoming a professional musician. But while in college, his mental health “entered into a slow decline,” Laufman said.
He eventually moved back into his parents’ home, where his temper became unpredictable, and he would argue about unusual things, according to Laufman.
DeFoor moved out in 2021 and, according to prosecutors, spent the next two years living in hotels, shelters and various apartments.
Laufman said DeFoor’s mental health struggles prevented him from holding a steady job. In 2023, he returned to his parents’ home. DeFoor often appeared incoherent and distracted, Laufman said, and his parents eventually realized that he was hearing and responding to voices that only he could hear. Doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia.
In April 2023, he was charged with trespassing because he refused to leave the waiting room at the UC Health psychiatric services emergency room.
The charges were dismissed after DeFoor was found to be incompetent to stand trial.
2024 vandalism case
In 2024, DeFoor was accused of breaking the front windows of two businesses in Hyde Park. The case ended up being handled by a mental health court, and DeFoor underwent treatment.
He was admitted to a lockdown mental health facility and stayed for about two months. During that time, DeFoor was stabilized through a drug treatment regimen, Laufman said.
For more than a year, he managed his symptoms, and he again began working on a bachelor’s degree. But in December 2025, DeFoor began struggling with schizophrenia again.
His psychiatrist adjusted his medications. While the change in medication took effect, DeFoor and his family were considering a return to a hospital, Laufman said. But then the incident at Vance’s house happened.
Laufman said DeFoor is not a dangerous or violent person. His mental illness is manageable, and even when it spirals out of control, he has only damaged property.
DeFoor “is a kind and sensitive person who needs treatment, not a cell,” Laufman said in the motion.