A mentally ill man who damaged three windows at Vice President JD Vance's Cincinnati home has agreed to plead guilty to two federal charges.
According to a plea agreement filed Aug. 31 in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, William DeFoor will plead guilty to damaging property of the United States and a second charge related to vandalizing a restricted building.
DeFoor, 26, faces up to 10 years in prison on each count. He has agreed to pay nearly $28,000 in restitution for the damage he caused. The agreement states DeFoor will not be allowed within 350 yards of Vance, his family and residences.
A plea hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 1.
DeFoor, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, has been in federal custody since his Jan. 5 arrest, the
same day as the incident which happened shortly after midnight at Vance's home.
Prosecutors said DeFoor walked about three miles from his parents' Hyde Park home to Vance's East Walnut Hills residence, carrying a hammer in a backpack. They said he left the backpack on a sidewalk, struck a Secret Service vehicle with a hammer and then ran up the driveway, where he smashed 14 glass panel across three large windows in the front of the home.
Investigators said DeFoor also damaged "enhanced security assets" on the windows.
Vance and his family were not at the residence at the time.
The case drew attention not only because it involved the vice president's home but because of DeFoor's long history of mental illness.
DeFoor was undergoing court-ordered mental treatment related to a 2024 case when he was arrested in January. That case also involved broken windows at a Hyde Park business. In 2024, DeFoor was the subject of three cases in mental health court. He was twice determined by the court to have a mental illness and, in one case, was ordered to undergo forced medication treatment.
Court filings indicated investigators were unable to determine why DeFoor targeted Vance's home. Federal agents reviewed his electronic devices, social media accounts and writings but found no clear motive.
DeFoor has remained in custody while receiving psychiatric medication.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Man who smashed windows at JD Vance's home with hammer reaches plea deal
