The man accused of breaking into Nancy Pelosi’s home and attacking her husband with a hammer made his first courtroom appearance on Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted murder.
David DePape was arraigned in San Francisco, where he is also charged with assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, elder abuse and threatening a public official. He appeared with his arm in a sling due to a dislocated shoulder, his public defender said.
DePape, who is being held without bail, told police shortly after attack that he was on a “suicide mission” and had plans to target other politicians and their families, according to a Tuesday court filing.
The fringe Bay Area activist is accused of breaking into the Democratic leader’s San Francisco home on Friday as part of his plot to kidnap the House speaker days ahead of the midterm elections. Police said DePape beat Paul Pelosi with a hammer in an attack the San Francisco district attorney, Brooke Jenkins, described as “politically motivated”.
The 42-year-old has also been charged federally with attempted kidnapping of a US official as well influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official by threatening or injuring a family member, which carry sentences of up to 30 years.
DePape told police he wanted to to hold the congresswoman hostage and “break her kneecaps”. The House speaker was not home at the time of the break-in and DePape instead found Paul Pelosi, 82, sleeping in the couple’s townhouse bedroom. He shouted “where’s Nancy” before confronting Paul Pelosi with a hammer, and telling him that he wanted to see the speaker.
“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. Pelosi was able to go into the bathroom which is when he was able to call 911,” according to a federal affidavit.
DePape and Paul Pelosi were wrestling over a hammer when police arrived and DePape struck him in the head. Pelosi was knocked unconscious and woke up in a pool of his own blood, the filing said. The attack left him with serious injuries that required surgery, including a fractured skull and wounds to his arms and hands.
DePape told officers and medics at the scene that he was sick of the “lies coming out of Washington DC,” Tuesday’s filing said. “I didn’t really want to hurt him, but you know this was a suicide mission. I’m not going to stand here and do nothing even if it cost me my life.”
He allegedly said he had other targets, including a local professor, several prominent state and federal politicians – and members of their families.
DePape’s intent “could not have been clearer”, Jenkins wrote in the filing. “He forced his way into the Pelosi home intending to take the person third in line to the presidency of the United States hostage and to seriously harm her. Thwarted by speaker Pelosi’s absence, defendant continued on his quest and would not be stopped, culminating on the near fatal attack on Mr Pelosi.”
Jenkins said the assault on Paul Pelosi appeared to be premeditated, and appealed to Americans to “tone down” the political rhetoric. The district attorney also rejected the numerous conspiracy theories that swirled around the attack over the weekend and were amplified by Elon Musk, Twitter’s new owner.
DePape is a nudist activist in the Bay Area, according to media reports, and maintained a blog where he espoused baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, media and the pandemic and ranted about the “ruling class”. He told police he viewed Nancy Pelosi as the “leader of the pack” of the Democratic party’s “lies” and that breaking her kneecaps “would show other members of Congress there were consequences to actions”.
On Tuesday, DePape’s public defender said he had not yet seen the police reports in the case and just met his client for the first time Monday evening.
“There has also been a lot of speculation regarding DePape’s vulnerability to disinformation, and that’s certainly something that we’re going to look into, that we’re going to delve into as his defense team,” Adam Lipson said.
The violence comes as lawmakers and elections officials face growing threats ahead of the first nationwide election since the insurrection at the Capitol, and authorities have warned of rising extremism.
The US Capitol police chief called the attack on Pelosi’s husband an “alarming reminder of the dangerous threats elected officials and public figures face during today’s contentious political climate”. His department will have hired nearly 280 officers by the end of the year, but more needs to be done, he said.
“We believe today’s political climate calls for more resources to provide additional layers of physical security for members of Congress,” Tom Manger said.
Inside the command center for the US Capitol police, an officer discovered footage of the attack on cameras used to monitor the Pelosi home that were installed more than eight years ago, the Washington Post has reported. However, after Nancy Pelosi left San Francisco for Washington DC last week, her around-the-clock security detail left with her and Capitol police stopped monitoring the video feeds from her house.
