Update: Suspect wanted to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage, ‘break her kneecaps,’ feds say
Federal prosecutors on Monday charged the man accused of invading the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with attempting to kidnap Pelosi and with assaulting her husband, Paul, according to documents filed in federal court on Monday.
The assailant, 42-year-old David DePape, forcibly barged into the Pelosi’s home in the early morning hours on Friday in pursuit of Ms. Pelosi and attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer. Paul Pelosi is still in the intensive care unit, where he is recovering from surgeries to mend a skull fracture and injuries to his right arm and hands. The 82-year-old is expected to recover.
DePape was allegedly planning to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and interrogate her about an unspecified political issue.
In an interview with officers after his arrest, Depape said if she told him the “truth,” he would let her go, and if she “lied,” he was going to break “her kneecaps,” according to the criminal complaint. DePape continued, saying that he considered Nancy the “leader of the pack” of lies told by the Democratic Party, the complaint states.
DePape is being charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with assault of a family member of a United States official, with the intent of retaliating against said official, and attempted kidnapping of a U.S. lawmaker, according to the charging documents. The first carries a maximum of 30 years in the prison; the second, a maximum of 20.
Those charges are in addition to a case filed by San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on Monday, which includes charges for attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elderly abuse, burglary and threatening the family member of a public official. Those charges carry a sentence of 13 years to life in prison. DePape is expected to be arraigned in superior court on Tuesday, where Jenkins said her office will request he be detained without bail.
The FBI San Francisco Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police and the San Francisco Police Department are still investigating the case. The Special Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California will prosecute.
Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, was in Washington D.C. with her security detail during the attack.
“Our children, our grandchildren and I are heartbroken and traumatized by the life-threatening attack on our Pop,” she said in her first public comments about the assault on Saturday.
According to the criminal complaint, DePape forced his way into the home early Friday morning through a rear glass door, which he broke to gain entry. There was no security at the time of the intrusion, Jenkins said on Monday.
He then made his way up to the Pelosi’s second-floor bedroom, where Paul Pelosi was sleeping. DePape allegedly woke Paul Pelosi up and informed him that he wanted to talk to Nancy.
When Paul said his wife was not home, DePape told him that he would sit and wait until she returned. He remained adamant when Paul said she wouldn’t be back in San Francisco for several days, the criminal complaint states.
At some point, Paul Pelosi asked to use the bathroom and dialed 9-1-1. Eight minutes after Paul Pelosi phoned 911, two officers arrived at the scene to find Paul Pelosi and DePape struggling over a hammer. When the officers asked them what was occuring, DePape responded that “everything was good,” an F.B.I. agent wrote in an affidavit. DePape then quickly yanked the hammer out of the hands of Pelosi and swung at Paul Pelosi’s head, striking him at least once and rendering Pelosi unconscious.
Officers then restrained DePape and transported him and Paul Pelosi to the hospital.
The police recovered zip ties in Pelosi’s bedroom and in the hallway near the front door of the home. They also discovered white rope, a roll of tape, a journal and gloves in DePape’s backpack inside the home.
Investigators also searched a Richmond garage, where DePape had been allegedly living for the past two years, and seized two hammers, a sword and a pair of rubber and cloth gloves.
Authorities have not yet release the specific motive for the attack, but Jenkins confirmed Monday that it based on DePape’s comments and interviews with law enforcement, it was “politically motivated.”
In the months leading up to Friday’s attack, DePape spewed conspiracy theories, extremist views and antisemitic messages, including the idea that the Holocaust was a hoax.
This story was originally published October 31, 2022 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Update: Suspect wanted to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage, ‘break her kneecaps,’ feds say."
