Actor Tom Hanks, president Joe Biden’s son Hunter and California governer Gavin Newsom were among the planned targets of the man accused of attacking House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, the police said.
David DePape, 42, has been accused of breaking into the speaker’s San Francisco home and striking her husband Paul Pelosi with a hammer in late October.
Judge Stephen Murphy ruled there was enough evidence for Mr DePape to face trial and scheduled one for 28 December. He remains in custody without bail.
A recording of the suspect’s interview following his arrest on 28 October was played in San Francisco Superior Court on Wednesday during a preliminary hearing in which Mr DePape says he was compelled to attack over “insane” lies in Washington DC.
“I’m not trying to get away with it. I know exactly what I did,” he told San Francisco police department lieutenant Carla Hurley in an interview after the attack.
“There is evil in Washington, what they did went so far beyond the campaign. It originates with Hillary [Clinton],” he continued.
“Honestly, day in and day out, the person on TV lying every day was [Nancy] Pelosi. It’s f***ing insane the crime spree the Democrats have been on, persecuting the rival campaign.”
“[Democrats] go from one crime to another crime. It’s a whole f***ing four years. It’s unacceptable."
Lieutenant Hurley told prosecutors on Wednesday that Mr DePape had planned to attack Hunter Biden, governor Newsom and Mr Hanks. She added that he said he did not expect to survive the encounter.
The suspect has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges against him, which include attempted murder, assault on the immediate family member of a federal official and attempted kidnapping of a federal official.
Mr DePape told police during his interview that it “was not easy” breaking into the Pelosi home. “There are cameras everywhere,” he said.
“A thousand cameras. I broke through... and I tried to turn the handle, and of course it’s locked,” he continued.
“I body slammed through it. I didn’t feel any pain. I was surprised. All that noise, he did not hear it. He was asleep. I told him I’m looking for Nancy Pelosi. He was like, ‘how can we resolve this?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ That’s when he started to do things.”
The 82-year-old husband of US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi had to undergo surgery to repair a skull fracture and injuries to his right hand after the assault.
Mr Pelosi recently made his first public appearance after the attack at the Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month.
