David DePape, the man suspected of attacking Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul Pelosi with a hammer at their San Francisco home, is now facing federal charges.
The charges of assault on the immediate family member of a federal official and attempted kidnapping of a federal official were outlined in a criminal complaint filed by an FBI agent in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Monday afternoon.
The filing happened three days after 42-year-old Mr DePape was accused of breaking and entering into the couple’s Pacific Heights home and assaulting the 82-year-old Mr Pelosi.
The criminal complaint was based on an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Stephanie Minor and states that Mr DePape attacked Mr Pelosi “with intent to retaliate against” the speaker “on account of the performance of official duties”.
“DePape stated that he was going to hold Nancy hostage and talk to her. If Nancy were to tell DePape the ‘truth,’ he would let her go, and if she ‘lied,’ he was going to break ‘her kneecaps’,” the complaint said. “DePape was certain that Nancy would not have told the ‘truth.’ In the course of the interview, DePape articulated he viewed Nancy as the ‘leader of the pack’ of lies told by the Democratic Party.”
The document continues: “DePape also later explained that by breaking Nancy’s kneecaps, she would then have to be wheeled into Congress, which would show other Members of Congress there were consequences to actions. DePape also explained generally that he wanted to use Nancy to lure another individual to DePape.”
In Mr DePape’s backpack, police found “a roll of tape, white rope, one hammer, one pair of rubber and cloth gloves, and a journal”.
The suspect allegedly first made his way into the Democratic leader’s home by breaking through a backdoor before making it all the way to the second floor to confront Mr Pelosi, as Ms Pelosi was still in Washington DC.
“It was a forced entry into the rear door of the home and that he ultimately did make his way upstairs which is where he ultimately confronted Mr Pelosi,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said.
The suspect repeatedly shouted “where is Nancy?” when he confronted Mr Pelosi, who was alone at the time of the break-in, according to CBS News.
“When Pelosi told him that Nancy was not there, DePape stated that he would sit and wait. Pelosi stated that his wife would not be home for several days and then DePape reiterated that he would wait. DePape stated he wanted to tie Pelosi up so that DePape could go to sleep as he was tired from having had to carry a backpack to the Pelosi residence,” the complaint said, at which point he began “taking out twist ties from his pocket so that he could restrain Pelosi. Pelosi moved towards another part of the house, but DePape stopped him and together they went back into the bedroom”.
It was at this point that Mr Pelosi entered the bathroom and called 911.
“DePape remembered thinking that there was no way the police were going to forget about the phone call,” the complaint states. “DePape explained that he did not leave after Pelosi’s call to 911 because, much like the American founding fathers with the British, he was fighting against tyranny without the option of surrender.”
According to the complaint, Mr DePape said they went downstairs.
“The police arrived and knocked on the door, and Pelosi ran over and opened it. Pelosi grabbed onto DePape’s hammer, which was in DePape’s hand,” the legal filing states. “At this point in the interview, DePape repeated that DePape did not plan to surrender and that he would go ‘through’ Pelosi. DePape stated that he pulled the hammer away from Pelosi and swung the hammer towards Pelosi. DePape explained that Pelosi’s actions resulted in Pelosi ‘taking the punishment instead’”.
Mr DePape lived in a garage on Shasta Street in Richmond, California, where “agents seized two hammers, a sword, and a pair of rubber and cloth gloves”.
US Capitol Police said in a statement that agents with the California field office “quickly arrived on scene”, while a team of investigators were dispatched to assist the FBI and San Francisco police in a joint investigation.
Officers were dispatched to the family’s home at 2.27am, per San Francisco Police Chief William Scott via CBS News. When they arrived on the scene, Mr DePape and Mr Pelosi were both seen fighting for control of a hammer.
“The front door was open, both men were holding on to one end of the hammer,” Ms Jenkins told the outlet. “There was an order to drop the weapon, drop the hammer.”
Police said after giving their orders, the suspect then proceeded to pull the hammer away from Mr Pelosi and assault him with it, which led to Mr Pelosi suffering a fractured skull.
Chief Scott added that officers “immediately tackled” Mr DePape after this and then proceeded to take him into custody. The attacker had also attempted to tie up Mr Pelosi “until Nancy got home”.
The House speaker broke her silence about the violent attack against her husband over the weekend saying in a statement that, “our children, our grandchildren and I are heartbroken and traumatized by the life-threatening attack on our Pop”.
Mr Pelosi, who reportedly suffered blunt force trauma to his head and body, remains in hospital where he is being treated for significant swelling and bruising. The 82-year-old’s son said at a press conference on Sunday that his father is responding to treatment but has yet to be discharged.
“They are rebuilding him slowly,” Paul Pelosi Jr told reporters outside the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Sunday evening, according to the New York Post.
Mr DePape was also taken to hospital for treatment.
The 42-year-old suspect is expected to be in court for his arraignment on Tuesday.
