A Cincinnati man has admitted to the late-night hammer attack that shattered historic windows at Vice President JD Vance’s Ohio home and damaged federal security equipment protecting the property.

William D. DeFoor, 26, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two federal crimes tied to the January 5 incident.

The guilty plea closes the question of whether DeFoor committed the destruction. The exact punishment will come later.

Local coverage of the plea quickly spread alongside images from the scene:

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio said DeFoor admitted to engaging in physical violence against government officials or property and willfully injuring or damaging property of the United States.

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Federal prosecutors said Secret Service agents saw DeFoor running along the front fence of the protected Cincinnati residence shortly after midnight on January 5. He crossed the property line at the driveway while carrying a hammer.

An unmarked federal law enforcement vehicle was blocking the driveway. DeFoor struck its driver’s-side window three times, according to the court record summarized by prosecutors.

Agents repeatedly ordered him to stop and drop the weapon. Instead, prosecutors said, he moved toward the front of the house and began hammering the large glass windows.

The rampage broke 14 panes across three historic windows, according to local court reporting. It also damaged federally owned security equipment installed around the windows.

The government valued that security damage at approximately $28,000.

DeFoor then tried to run. Secret Service agents and Cincinnati police officers caught him nearby.

The Vance family was in Washington, D.C., at the time. Nobody inside the home was injured because the residence was empty.

That fact prevented a terrifying property attack from becoming something much worse.

WCPO covered the plea from Cincinnati:

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The plea deal resolved two counts while leaving the sentence to U.S. District Judge Douglas R. Cole.

Ideastream Public Media’s WVXU reported that prosecutors agreed to dismiss a third count — assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers — after DeFoor is sentenced.

Defense attorney Paul Laufman said dropping that charge mattered because it was arguably the most serious of the three and alleged physical resistance. Laufman said he did not believe the facts supported it.

DeFoor agreed to pay roughly $28,000 in restitution. He must also remain at least 350 yards away from Vice President Vance, members of the Vance family and their residences, and he may not attempt to contact them.

Each of the two crimes to which DeFoor pleaded guilty carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison. Those maximums do not amount to a 20-year sentence already imposed; the judge will weigh federal sentencing guidelines and other legal factors after a presentence investigation.

No sentencing date has been announced. DeFoor remains in federal custody.

The defense has maintained from the beginning that the incident was driven by severe mental illness rather than politics.

Laufman said DeFoor has significant mental-health problems that likely affected his understanding of his actions. He also said his client has received medication and care while detained.

That context is relevant to sentencing. It does not erase what happened.

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A man armed with a hammer crossed the boundary of a protected residence, ignored federal agents and attacked a private home and government equipment. The danger of that conduct does not disappear because the house happened to be empty.

The latest national coverage of the plea included additional details about DeFoor’s background:

Federal investigators searched for a clear motive after the January attack. Public court reporting has not established that DeFoor targeted the home because of Vice President Vance’s politics.

That distinction matters. It would be reckless to manufacture a political motive the evidence has not shown.

It would be equally reckless to minimize the attack.

U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II said violence aimed at elected leaders, their families or their property has no place in American society.

Public officials, he said, must be able to carry out their duties free from threats, vandalism and violence.

The case now moves to sentencing.

DeFoor has accepted responsibility for the hammer attack. Judge Cole will decide how much time, restitution and supervision that admission brings.

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This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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