The hammer-wielding maniac accused of smashing multiple windows at Vice President JD Vance's Cincinnati home is reportedly the child of a prominent millionaire family and is said to have recently been using the name "Julia." William DeFoor, 26, was arrested early Monday after police say he shattered four windows at Vance's home.
Police said that the incident took place around midnight, when DeFoor allegedly tried to force his way into the home and, in the process, shattered multiple windows. The Vance family was not in Ohio during the incident, having relocated to the vice president's official residence in Washington, DC, following the inauguration. Questions have also surfaced about DeFoor's identity.
Trans Angle Being Explored
While police records list his name as William and identify him as male, he had recently been posting online under the name Julia DeFoor. It remains unclear whether he identifies as transgender or nonbinary. In his booking photo, DeFoor appears disheveled, with an unkempt, matted mullet and a distant, unfocused expression.
His father, who is also named William, has shaped a distinguished career. A graduate of Harvard University, he has spent decades working as a pediatric urologist in Cincinnati and serves as a professor at the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine.
The family lives in an upscale Hyde Park neighborhood, in a home valued at about $1.3 million.
Federal records show that DeFoor's father has been an active political donor for years. He contributed thousands of dollars to Kamala Harris' unsuccessful 2024 presidential bid, following a long pattern of smaller donations to a political action committee that advocated on behalf of urologists.
He is also a longtime Democratic supporter, according to public contribution records. Over the years, he donated more than $5,000 combined to the campaigns of former President Joe Biden and Harris during the 2020 and 2024 election cycles.
In addition, social media posts indicate that he voiced support for a federal assault weapons ban in the aftermath of the tragic shooting at Uvalde Elementary School.
Bright Future Doomed
The younger DeFoor's life appears to have taken a sharp turn after his early promise. He graduated from Summit Country Day School in 2018, where he was recognized as a candidate for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, a distinction that highlighted his academic potential at the time.
He later enrolled at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music but spent only about two years there before leaving around 2020, according to his Facebook. Earlier this year, he said he was continuing his education at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College.
The accused vandal has struggled with mental health challenges in recent years, court records suggest. In 2024, he was sentenced on two counts of vandalism involving a local interior design business.
The court ordered DeFoor to undergo two years of mandatory mental health treatment instead of a traditional conviction. That program is still underway, according to documents cited by Cincinnati.com.
In April 2023, DeFoor was arrested on a trespassing charge at UC Health's psychiatric and emergency services facility. He was initially held on a $10,000 bond, but later that year a judge ruled he was not mentally competent to stand trial. As a result, the charges were dismissed in a filing dated Nov. 8.
According to Hamilton County jail records, DeFoor now faces several new charges, including obstructing official business, criminal damaging or endangering, criminal trespass, and vandalism. He is expected to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.
