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The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home early Friday morning and assaulting her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer told police he was on a “suicide mission” and planned to target other officials, according to reports on Tuesday.
David Wayne DePape, 42, made his first court appearance at the San Francisco Superior Court on Tuesday. He appeared at the arraignment with his right arm in a sling, according to reports, which his public defender, Adam Lipson, explained was a result of a dislocated shoulder that occurred during his arrest.
He faces six state charges in connection to the alleged attack on the Speaker’s husband including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary false imprisonment, and threatening the life or serious bodily harm to a public official. DePape also faces federal assault and attempted kidnapping charges. Lipson entered a plea of not guilty on DePape’s behalf.
Lipson, spoke with reporters after Tuesday’s hearing. “What I will say is that there’s also been a lot of speculation regarding Mr. DePape’s vulnerability to misinformation,” he said. “[That’s] certainly something that we’re gonna look into, that we’re gonna delve into, as his defense team, but again it would be premature to talk about that at this time.” At the time, Lipson acknowledged he had not yet seen the police reports.
In a court filing, prosecutors said that DePape told the police and medics who responded to the attack on Paul Pelosi that he was “sick of the lies coming out of Washington, D.C.” and that “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.”
At the time of DePape’s arrest on Friday, he maintained a subscription-modelblogwhere he expressed rage over Covid-19 precautions and espoused beliefs shared by the conspiracist QAnon movement. On his Facebook page, DePape echoed similar hard-right and conspiratorial content, which the social platform deleted onFriday.
A criminal complaint states that DePape broke through a glass door of the residence with the hammer that he later used to attack Paul and entered the Pelosis’ home at approximately2:30 a.m. on Friday. The alleged assailant brought zip ties, tape, rope and gloves, as well. DePape stated that Paul was in bed and that he told him to wake up. The suspect said he wanted to talk to “Nancy.”
Multiple reports confirmed that he confrontedPaul Pelosi, asking, “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” The Speaker was not at home at the time of the invasion. Police also stated that they witnessed the two men fighting over a hammer, which DePape then used to attack Pelosi before officers tackled the suspect.
Trump supporters who broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6made similar demandsfor Pelosi, with some rioters chanting “Nancy, Nancy” as they roamed through the building.
In an interview DePape gave to the San Francisco Police Department after his arrest on Friday, he said he was going to “talk to her.” If she told the “truth,” DePape said he would release the Speaker, but if she “lied,” he would break “her kneecaps.” In the document, DePape described Speaker Pelosi as “‘leader of the pack’ of lies told by the Democratic Party.”
The suspect also later said that by breaking the Speaker’s kneecaps, she would have to be wheeled into Congress, which would show other Members of Congress that their actions had consequences.
DePape faces between 13 years to life in prison for state charges, according to San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. Federal prosecutors charged DePape separately with federal assault and attempted kidnapping charges punishable by up to 50 years in prison, The Hill reports. The suspect was was ordered to remain jailed without bond.
On Monday, Speaker Pelosi issued a statement on the attack on her husband, and wrote, “Since the horrific attack on Paul early Friday, we have been deluged with thousands of messages conveying concern, prayers and warm wishes. We are most grateful. She also added that, “Paul is making steady progress on what will be a long recovery process.”
This story was updated on Nov. 3 at 1:33 a.m. to include details from the criminal complaint filed on Oct. 28.
