Report: JD Vance Home Vandalization Suspect Has Criminal Record, Demanded Law Enforcement Call Him ‘Julia’

The 26-year-old man who is the suspect in the vandalism of Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home on Monday demanded law enforcement call him “Julia” and has a prior criminal record and mental health issues, Fox News reported, citing federal sources. 

The suspect, William DeFoor, was booked in jail on Monday and is facing charges for vandalism, obstruction of official business, criminal damaging or endangering, and criminal trespass after allegedly wielding a hammer and smashing several windows at Vance’s home. The vice president and his family were not at the residence at the time of the incident. 

FBI sources told the outlet DeFoor demanded to be called “Julia” when he was arrested. It is currently unconfirmed whether DeFoor identifies as transgender or nonbinary, although he has been posting to social media recently under the name “Julia DeFoor,” the New York Post reported. 

Court records revealed several criminal cases involving DeFoor in recent years, “with each proceeding intersecting with findings related to his mental competency,” Fox News reported. 

In April 2023, DeFoor was charged with trespassing at the University of Cincinnati Health Psychiatric Emergency Services after police said he refused to leave the campus, according to the report. The case was later dismissed after DeFoor was found incompetent to stand trial. 

In 2024, DeFoor was charged with two counts of vandalism for breaking windows at a business in Hyde Park. The case was referred to a mental health docket, and the court ordered treatment instead of criminal conviction, the report continued.

A Hamilton County Court signed off on an application in October 2024 granting his mother legal guardianship, finding DeFoor incompetent because of mental illness.

According to the Post, DeFoor’s father, who is also named William, is a Harvard University graduate and pediatric urologist in Cincinnati who has a history of donating to Democrats.

“The elder DeFoor donated thousands to Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign in 2024 after years of small contributions to a PAC that lobbied for urologists, according to federal records,” according to the report. “He is also a longtime Democratic Party supporter, according to his public contributions. He donated upwards of $5,000 to former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Harris’ respective campaigns in 2020 and 2024.”

DeFoor’s father also previously supported a federal assault weapons ban following the shooting at Robbs Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the report continues, citing social media posts.  

The younger DeFoor “appeared to have a fall from grace” after his 2018 graduation from the Summit Country Day School, where he was a candidate for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, according to the report. 

DeFoor reportedly attended the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music for two years before dropping out in 2020. He said on his social media more recently that he was attending Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, per the report.