Police officers arrested a man suspected of vandalizing the Ohio home of Vice President JD Vance early Monday while Mr. Vance and his family were away, officials said.
The man, identified as William Defoor, 26, was charged with felony vandalism as well as obstructing official business, criminal damaging or endangering, and criminal trespassing, prosecutors said. He was arrested outside the home in Cincinnati, which is one of Mr. Vance’s personal residences, shortly after midnight, according to a statement by the U.S. Secret Service. Officials said the damage included broken windows.
“The residence was unoccupied at the time of the incident, and the vice president and his family were not in Ohio,” the Secret Service said in a statement. No injuries were reported, and it was unclear whether there was any motive. The home is in the East Walnut Hills neighborhood, which sits along the Ohio River northeast of downtown.
“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,” Mr. Vance said on X.
The vice president often stays with his family at the Naval Observatory in Washington, but he occasionally stays at the home in Cincinnati. Mr. Vance returned there after monitoring the military action in Venezuela last week. But he and his family had already returned to Washington at the time that the home was vandalized.
The Cincinnati Police Department did not respond immediately to a request for comment. It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Defoor had legal representation.
The two-story, white, Colonial-style house, which is set back behind an iron fence, sits on a busy thoroughfare. Aside from the presence of Secret Service officials around the property, the neighborhood was mostly a picture of normalcy as the post-holiday workweek began. A green recycling container was at the end of Mr. Vance’s driveway and a repair man was working on the window that was apparently damaged during the night.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
Ali Watkins covers international news for The Times and is based in Belfast.
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