SAN FRANCISCO — The man accused of seriously injuring the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a home invasion is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court, his first public appearance since an alleged attack that underscored the threat of violence against public officials in a politically polarized nation.
Prosecutors charged David DePape on Monday with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and burglary, among other counts, saying he broke into the couple’s house early Friday morning and struck Paul Pelosi with a hammer.
Pelosi, 82, was knocked unconscious and sustained a skull fracture along with arm and hand injuries, all of which required surgery. His wife, whom the suspected assailant was apparently seeking, was in Washington, D.C., at the time.
“Mr. DePape specifically targeted the Pelosi home to confront Speaker Pelosi,’’ said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, calling the attack, “politically motivated.’’ Jenkins added she would request DePape be held without bail.
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DePape, 42, also faces federal charges of assault and attempted kidnapping punishable by 30 and 20 years in prison, respectively. The court document alleging the attack paints a chilling portrait of a disturbed person with a political vendetta, saying DePape was “prepared to detain and injure Speaker Pelosi’’ and carried a backpack with zip ties, tape, rope, gloves and at least one hammer.
According to the FBI, DePape told San Francisco police he intended to speak with Pelosi and let her go if she was truthful with him, but break her kneecaps if she lied, as he expected she would as the “leader of the pack’’ of Democratic Party lies.
“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,’’ the document said.
DePape acknowledged he broke a glass door with a hammer to get into the house and found Paul Pelosi sleeping in an upstairs bedroom, then inquired about his wife’s whereabouts and, when told she wasn’t there, said he would wait for her, the complaint said.
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Paul Pelosi eventually made it to a bathroom, from where he called 911. Though he was aware of that, DePape told police he didn’t leave the house because, “much like the American founding fathers with the British, he was fighting against tyranny without the option of surrender.”
DePape’s social media postings include right-wing conspiracy theories, and his former girlfriend told the San Francisco Chronicle he sank into drug abuse and mental illness to the point he became convinced “he was Jesus for a year.’’
After the 911 call, he and Pelosi went downstairs near the front door. When police arrived, they were tussling over a hammer, which DePape wrested away and used to strike Pelosi before the officers intervened, according to the complaint.
Jenkins said the assault “unnerved me as a political figure in this city’’ – she’s on the ballot for the Nov. 8 election – and she appealed for more civil discourse. Pelosi and DePape had never previously met, the complaint said.
“It’s very sad to see that we’re once again at a point in history where people believe that it’s OK to express their political sentiments through violence,’’ Jenkins said. “It really demonstrates that we have to calm things down, we have to decide that we are going to be more respectful as an American society.’’
USA TODAY
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