Authorities arrested a 26-year-old man after an attack on the residence of the Vice President of the United States,JD Vance, in the Walnut Hills neighborhood in Cincinnati.
The incident occurred near dawn on Monday, when Secret Service agents heard a loud crash and were able to see that the suspect had broken a window with a hammer and was attempting to enter the home, according to police sources.
The detainee, identified as William DeFoor, faces charges of obstruction of official business, criminal damaging, trespassing, and vandalism, according to Hamilton County jail records.
In addition to the damage to the house, the suspect allegedly vandalized a Secret Service vehicle while he moved up the property's driveway. His first court appearance is scheduled for this Tuesday.
El atacante fue identificado como William DeFoor, un residente de Cincinatti con problemas psiquiátricos
Vice President Vance and his family were not at the residence at the time of the attack, since they had returned to Washington on Sunday afternoon after spending several days in Cincinnati.
In a message posted on the social network X, Vance thanked the swift response of the Secret Service and local police, and he described the striker as "an unbalanced person" who tried to break in by hitting the windows.
Vance also called on the media to act with caution and to avoid publishing images of the damage caused to his home. "We try to shield our kids from the realities of public life", he wrote, while he expressed skepticism about the news value of exposing his family's privacy. The message was interpreted as a request for respect for the private lives of public officials and, in particular, of their children.
El vicepresidente no se encontraba en su residencia durante el incidente
The defendant's legal record includes prior vandalism. This past April, DeFoor pleaded guilty to two charges after causing more than 2,000 dollars in damage to a local business, which resulted in a sentence of treatment in a mental health facility for two years and the obligation to pay restitution.
Additionally, in 2023 he faced trespassing charges, but a judge determined that he was not competent to stand trial, and the case was dismissed. DeFoor is a transgender person who donated thousands of dollars to Biden's campaign and later to Kamala Harris, and is also the child of a prominent Democratic surgeon.
Local officials highlighted the coordinated actions of law enforcement, which made it possible to contain the situation without any injuries being reported.
This is not the first time the Vance family has been affected by incidents in their private surroundings. In 2024, the then-senator reported protests in front of his house and stated that he had tried to talk with demonstrators to protect his young daughter.
The attack on the Vice President's residence has caused widespread condemnation and reopened the discussion about political violence in the United States, reinforcing calls to respect the law, protect officials' families, and ensure that dissent is expressed without resorting to intimidation or destruction.
DeFoor rompió una ventana y atacó una camioneta del servicio secreto
