A man was taken into custody early Monday morning after causing damage and trying to break into the Cincinnati home of Vice President JD Vance, U.S. authorities said. The man has been named as 26 year-old William DeFoor
The incident happened just after midnight at Vance’s residence in the Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati. Secret Service agents, who were monitoring the property, heard a noise and found the suspect breaking windows with a hammer. He was detained at the scene and later arrested by Cincinnati police.
Vance and his family were not at home when the incident occurred — they were in Washington, D.C., and had returned there before the break-in attempt.
I appreciate everyone's well wishes about the attack at our home. As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows. I'm grateful to the secret service and the Cincinnati police for responding quickly. We weren't even home as we had returned already to DC. One request to the media: we try to protect our kids as much as possible from the realities of this life of public service. In that light, I am skeptical of the news value of plastering images of our home with holes in the windows.
Later Monday morning, Vice President Vance posted about the incident on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote that he appreciates the well-wishes he’s received and described the person involved as “a crazy person” who tried to break in by hammering the windows.
Vance also thanked the Secret Service and Cincinnati Police for responding quickly. He asked the media to consider his family’s privacy, saying he was “skeptical of the news value” of posting pictures of the home with broken windows, especially because he and his wife are trying to protect their children from the harsher realities of public life.
At this time, the man in custody has not been publicly identified, and authorities are coordinating with prosecutors to decide what charges he will face. The investigation is ongoing.