David DePape, the conspiracy theorist who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, with a hammer and plotted to interrogate the former House speaker on video, was convicted Friday of state charges related to the assault.
A jury found DePape guilty of five felony counts in state court, according to several news outlets. The charges resulted from an attack that investigators described as the beginning of a planned “rampage” to go after high-profile targets, including actor Tom Hanks and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
He was convicted of imprisonment, residential burglary, threatening a family member of a public official, attempting to sway a witness and aggravated kidnapping. The verdict comes seven months after he was found guilty of federal charges in the attack.
DePape’s social media accounts, and interviews with friends and former co-workers, detail how he began to descend into baseless right-wing conspiracy theories. He wrote blog posts about several discredited conspiracy theories, including those popularly known as “Pizzagate” and “QAnon,” which posited large sexual abuse rings run by Hollywood and Democratic Party figures.
San Francisco Assistant Dist. Atty. Phoebe Maffei argued during the trial that DePape targeted Nancy Pelosi because of her role as House speaker at the time, making her second in line for the presidency, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. She was not home during the break-in.
“We haven’t seen anybody make a plan to break into the home of one of our national leaders, hold hostage and nearly kill that person’s spouse,” Maffei told jurors, according to the Chronicle. “Thankfully this is unusual. But it’s what happened.”
Attorneys with the San Francisco public defender’s office, which represented DePape, successfully sought to have several charges against him dismissed in the state case, arguing that they were similar to those he had been convicted of in federal court.
In response, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman tossed out the counts of attempted murder, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. Defense attorneys argued that the state’s double jeopardy law prohibits defendants from being tried more than once on the same crime.
In his closing arguments, Public Defender Adam Lipson argued that his client might be guilty of false imprisonment, residential burglary and attempting to sway a witness. But, he told jurors, DePape should not be convicted of aggravated kidnapping and threatening a family member of a public official, the Chronicle reported.
Lipson reportedly argued that DePape’s threats were not specific to Pelosi’s role as House speaker, but rather to find and reach other targets.
Conspiracy theories continued to play a role as the state trial came to a close this week.
On Tuesday, Dorfman barred DePape’s former partner from the courtroom and second floor of the building, the Associated Press reported. The decision came after Gypsy Taub, a nudism activist, handed out fliers outside the courtroom with links to her website, which promotes a series of conspiracy theories.
The day Dorfman kicked her out of the second floor, the address for Taub’s website was spotted on a wall and on a toilet paper dispenser in a women’s bathroom at the courthouse.
Dorfman accused Taub of “trying to corruptly influence one or more jury members” and instructed bailiffs to escort her out.
The man convicted in the 2022 hammer attack on Paul Pelosi will appear in court Tuesday, as the sentencing hearing in his case is being reopened due to a court error.
A federal judge sentenced David DePape to 30 years after being found guilty of assaulting the husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi in their San Francisco home. DePape was convicted of assault and attempted kidnapping charges.
During the hearing on May 17, the judge overseeing the trial made an error in sentencing when she did not give DePape the opportunity to make a statement before sentencing.
Prosecutors noticed the mistake that afternoon and notified the court. DePape’s lawyers promptly filed an appeal.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley wrote, “no party brought to the court’s attention” that it had not allowed Mr. DePape to speak, a requirement of federal criminal procedures. “As the court did not do so, it committed clear error,” she wrote.
At Tuesday’s hearing, DePape would have the option to speak.
The error is unlikely to alter his sentence, which consists of 30 years for the assault charge and 20 years for the attempted kidnapping charge being run concurrently. DePape was given credit for time served for the 18 months he has been in custody.
Tim Fang is a digital producer at CBS Bay Area. A Bay Area native, Tim has been a part of the CBS Bay Area newsroom for two decades and joined the digital staff in 2006.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley handed down the sentence for David DePape, 44, whom jurors found guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison term.
DePape was given 20 years for one count and 30 years for another count. The sentences will run concurrently. He was also given credit for the 18 months that he’s been in custody.
DePape stood silently as Judge Corley handed the sentence and looked down at times. His public defense attorneys had asked the judge to sentence him to 14 years, pointing out that he was going through a difficult time in his life and had no prior criminal history.
Corley said she took into account when giving DePape’s sentence the fact that he broke into the home of public official, an unprecedented act in the history of the country.
“He actually went to the home, that is completely, completely unprecedented,” she said.
Before sentencing, Christine Pelosis read victim statements on behalf of her father and mother, explaining how the violent attack changed their lives.
“The Pelosi family couldn’t be prouder of their Pop and his tremendous courage in saving his own life on the night of the attack and in testifying in this case,” Aaron Bennett, a spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement. “Speaker Pelosi and her family are immensely grateful to all who have sent love and prayers over the last eighteen months, as Mr. Pelosi continues his recovery.”
DePape admitted during trial testimony that he broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home Oct. 28, 2022, intending to hold the speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps” if she lied to him. He also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer after police showed up, saying his plan to end what he viewed as government corruption was unraveling.
The attack on Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time, was captured on police body camera video just days before the midterm elections and sent shockwaves through the political world.
Defense attorneys argued DePape was motivated by his political beliefs, not because he wanted to interfere with Nancy Pelosi’s official duties as a member of Congress, making the charges against him invalid.
One of his attorneys, Angela Chuang, said during closing arguments that DePape was caught up in conspiracy theories.
At trial DePape, a Canadian who moved to the U.S. more than 20 years ago, testified that he believed news outlets repeatedly lied about former President Donald Trump. In rants posted on a blog and online forum that were taken down after his arrest, DePape echoed the baseless, right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory that claims a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles runs the U.S. government.
DePape also told jurors he had planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and record his interrogation of the Democratic speaker, who was not at the home at the time of the attack, to upload it online.
Prosecutors said he had rope and zip ties with him, and detectives found body cameras, a computer and a tablet.
Paul Pelosi also testified at the trial, recalling how he was awakened by a large man bursting into the bedroom and asking, “Where’s Nancy?” He said that when he responded that his wife was in Washington, DePape said he would tie him up while they waited for her.
“It was a tremendous sense of shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house, and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible,” Pelosi told jurors.
DePape is also charged in state court with assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies. Jury selection in that trial is expected to start Wednesday.
Paul Pelosi suffered two head wounds in the attack, including a skull fracture that was mended with plates and screws he will have for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.
A San Francisco jury on Thursday found David DePape guilty of federal charges in last year’s violent hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the couple’s home. DePape faces up to 50 years in prison.
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David DePape took the stand Tuesday morning in his federal trial and tearfully recounted his motivations – fueled by conspiracy theories and right-wing media – that led to the bludgeoning of Paul Pelosi, husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at their San Francisco mansion last year.
“At that time I was biased against Trump. But there’s, like, truth there,” he said, sobbing. “So if there’s truth out there that I don’t know, I want to know it.”
David DePape weeps while testifying at his federal trial in the attack on Paul Pelosi, Nov. 14, 2023.
Sketch by Vicki Behringer
Originally from Canada, DePape said he was doing carpentry and living in a friend’s garage in Richmond at the time of the attack, using bathrooms at parks or restaurants. He testified that he spent endless hours playing video games as well as watching and listening to political content online.
DePape said he mainly watched YouTube videos and listened to podcasts from the likes of Tim Pool, Glenn Beck and conservative media outlets, He described his worldview as taking up a battle against a sinister cabal of government officials, celebrities, and pedophiles driving the country to ruin, echoing baseless Q-Anon diatribes.
The defense claims said the attack at the Pelosis’ home was part of a bigger plan to end corruption in the U.S. DePape has pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official with intent to retaliate against the official for performance of their duties.
His attorneys argue that he was not seeking to go after Nancy Pelosi because of her official duties as a member of Congress and so the charges do not fit.
The attack happened in the early hours of Oct. 28, 2022, just days before the midterm elections. DePape said he went to the Pelosis’ home to talk to Nancy Pelosi about Russian involvement in the 2016 election, and that he planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and upload his interrogation of her online. Prosecutors say he had rope and zip ties with him.
In testimony Monday, Paul Pelosi recounted the attack publicly for the first time, He recalled being awakened by a man bursting into the bedroom door asking, “Where’s Nancy?” He said that when he responded that his wife was in Washington, DePape said he would tie him up while they waited for her.
Pelosi testified he tried to remain calm and affable while managing to call 911. On the stand Tuesday, DePape testified that he felt really bad for Pelosi after hearing testimony from a neurosurgeon who operated on him after the attack. Pelosi underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and injuries to his right arm and hands.
“We had a good rapport going on,” said DePape on the stand Tuesday. “I gave him a squeeze on the shoulder to be reassuring. The idea of restraining him didn’t really occur to me.”
DePape bludgeoned Pelosi on the head when officers appeared at the Pelosi front door to find the men grappling over the hammer.
“I reacted because my plan was basically ruined,” DePape said when asked why he hit Pelosi.
“I actually thought he was dead until I heard the charges,” he said. “He was never my target and I am sorry he got hurt.”
Multiple Targets
DePape testified that his plan was to get to Nancy Pelosi and other targets to admit to their corruption and eventually get President Joe Biden to pardon them all. His list of targets also included Hunter Biden, Congressman Adam Schiff, former Attorney General Bill Barr, Tom Hanks, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“It’s just easier giving them a pardon so we can move forward as a country,” he said, crying.
“There is a sympathy defense here. A sympathy defense is not a legal defense. A sympathy defense is an attempt to get a jury to acquit or to hang,” explained UC San Francisco law professor Rory Little. “The intent for the defense is to have compassion for this guy. There’s no doubt here that DePape is presented as a sympathetic figure; a sad, almost pathetic and deluded person.”
Also on DePape’s list was Bay Area scholar Dr. Gayle Rubin, a leading academic in feminist theory and queer studies and a cultural anthropologist at the University of Michigan, previously identified in court papers as “Target 1.”
DePape stated besides Hunter Biden, Target 1 was at the top of his list and he planned to go to Rubin, a target of right-wing groups over her writings that have been misconstrued and which are now used to demonize the LGBTQ community.
U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ordered her name not be put in the public record because of threats against her. However, Rubin has been identified as Target 1 by both prosecutors and defense attorneys as well as in published reports.
“Because she is a pedo activist. she wants to turn all the schools into pedo factories,” DePape testified about why he Rubin on his list. “if she was just a pedo activist I probably wouldn’t have targeted her.
DePape said he looked up Rubin’s home but it appeared on maps to be difficult to gain entry. His hope was to use Pelosi to get to Rubin.
“I figured Target 1 would know Nancy and be attracted to her celebrity,’ he said.
Dr. Gayle Rubin (2nd from top right) testifies as Target 1 at the federal trial of David DePape, Nov. 14, 2023 in San Francisco.
Sketch by Vicki Behringer
Rubin testified using the “Target 1” pseudonym Tuesday, saying “Absolutely not,” when asked if she supported the sexual abuse of children. She also said her workplace had to take measures to ensure her safety following word that DePape had her at the top of his list.
“Regardless of how sympathetic they may be, and that is where, if they follow the law, it sounds to me like they will have to vote to convict,” said Little.
Closing arguments begin when the trial resumes on Wednesday, when the jury could also deliver its verdict.
f convicted, DePape faces life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty to charges in state court of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies. A state trial has not been scheduled.
Kenny Choi, Kathleen Seccombe, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Paul Pelosi, husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, offered chilling details in federal court on Monday of the night he was allegedly attacked and bludgeoned with a hammer by a man now on trial for attempted kidnapping and assault.
Paul Pelosi, 83, took the stand on the second day of the federal trial against David DePape, who faces federal charges for attempting to kidnap the Democratic congresswoman and assaulting her husband with the intent to interfere with the lawmaker’s official duties or retaliate against her.
DePape, 43, is accused of traveling from his Richmond residence to the Pelosis’ San Francisco home the early morning of Oct. 28, 2022, in search of the lawmaker, allegedly with plans to hold her hostage and question her regarding far-right conspiracy theories involving the Democratic Party and a list of politicians and public figures.
Instead of finding Nancy Pelosi, who was in Washington at the time, DePape wandered through the quiet Pacific Heights home before stumbling upon a bedroom with her husband sleeping inside.
“The door opened and a very large man came in, with a hammer in one hand and some ties in the other hand,” Paul Pelosi testified. “And he said ‘Where’s Nancy?’ And I think that’s what woke me up.”
Until then, it was a typical evening.
Paul Pelosi told jurors he’d gone to dinner that night in San Francisco. He went to sleep as usual between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, bringing a cup of ice water he took to bed each evening. He didn’t set the alarm system, which the family only used when they were out of town, because it’s sensitive and will go off easily with people in the home.
A couple of hours later, Paul Pelosi woke up in “tremendous shock” after realizing that “someone had broken into the house.”
“And looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger,” he said. “And so I tried to stay as calm as possible.”
Paul Pelosi said he told DePape that his wife was in Washington.
“Well then we’re going to have to wait for her,” Paul Pelosi said DePape responded.
DePape told Paul Pelosi that his wife was the “leader of the pack,” and “he had to take her out,” he testified. Because she wasn’t home, Paul Pelosi said DePape told him he had to tie him up and wait for her.
“He had these cords in his hand. I assume that’s what he was going to use,” he said.
Paul Pelosi said he first tried to move toward the elevator outside the couple’s bedroom, which had a telephone inside. But DePape caught on, Paul Pelosi said, so instead he moved toward his bathroom where he charged his cellphone each night.
He called 911, but didn’t feel like he could be honest with the dispatcher about the situation. DePape still had the hammer, and was demanding that Paul Pelosi tell the dispatcher that he was just a friend of the family.
“And looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger,” Paul Pelosi, shown above, told the jury in the federal trial against David DePape. “And so I tried to stay as calm as possible.”
(Noah Berger / Associated Press)
According to his court testimony, Paul Pelosi hung up the 911 call, and tried to reason with the intruder. DePape said he was tired, and wanted to tie Paul Pelosi up so that he could get some sleep. Paul Pelosi suggested the two men walk downstairs, where DePape left his two backpacks and other belongings. Paul Pelosi said he knew that if the police came, they needed to get downstairs where it would be easier to arrest the suspect.
“He said, ‘Oh, the police are going to be here, it’s over for me, I’m going to have to take you out,’ things like that,” Paul Pelosi said DePape told him. “I said ‘No, they’re probably not going to come. They’re probably not going to come.’
“And then the police were at the door.”
Police body camera footage shows Paul Pelosi — holding his cup of water — opening the door with DePape standing next to him. The two were fighting for control of the hammer, which officers ordered them to drop.
DePape instead grabbed it from Paul Pelosi and swung it at his head multiple times, fracturing his skull and causing injuries to his arm and hand. Photo and video evidence shown to the jury on Thursday depict Paul Pelosi lying in a pool of his blood, struggling to breathe as police tackled DePape.
He was hospitalized for more than a week at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital for a fractured skill and other injuries. He received a dozen stitches on the back of his right arm, he said, and his badly damaged left hand was also treated. Paul Pelosi told the jurors that the plastic surgeon was able to reconstruct his hand and avoid doing skin grafts, while his head injury recovery included regaining his balance and “getting my walking back.”
Paul Pelosi recounted the attack as his daughter, Christine Pelosi, sat in the far back corner of the courtroom and while DePape watched from beside his defense attorneys.
Despite the graphic testimony and evidence, the trial is considered far from an easy assault case. Prosecutors bear the burden of proving that the attack was due to Nancy Pelosi’s role as House Speaker, and that DePape intended to kidnap her after breaking into the lawmaker’s home.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Laura Vartain Horn told the federal court jury in her opening arguments on Thursday that DePape had gone to the couple’s home that early morning with the idea to hold Nancy Pelosi “hostage,” “break her kneecaps” and “teach her a lesson.”
“When the defendant broke into the speaker’s home, he had a plan,” Horn told the jury of 12 men and three women. “It was a violent plan.”
Prosecutors attempted to bolster their argument on Monday when questioning FBI Special Agent Stephanie Minor, who has handled the case over the last year. Minor walked the jurors through a series of videos showing DePape traveling from the East Bay to the Pelosis’ home, and described a list of his internet searches in the days leading up to the attack.
Minor explained how DePape had extensively researched the Pelosi family, along with others on his so-called target list, and paid for a service that provided their emails and home addresses. The prosecution also played a recording of a phone call DePape made to a reporter earlier this year, in which he seemingly apologizes for not being successful in his mission.
“I have an important message for everyone in America. You’re welcome,” he said. “I would also like to apologize…I’m so sorry I didn’t get more of them.”
But federal public defenders Jodi Linker and Angela Chuang have disputed the argument that DePape intended to kidnap Nancy Pelosi or attack Paul Pelosi because of his wife’s official position in Congress.
Instead, they claim that the Pelosi home was the first stop in a broader scheme to end corruption and other offenses he believed were being committed by the Democratic Party and public officials and celebrities.
DePape’s plan was to use Nancy Pelosi to put an end to his QAnon-like theory that Democratic politicians and public officials were abusing and trafficking children, the jury was told.
“This is not a who done it,” Linker told the jury in her opening argument. It was a “why done it,” she said, “and the why matters.”
The assault has inspired additional conspiracies and prompted political attacks against the Pelosi family, including from former President Trump.
Along with the federal criminal case, DePape faces separate state charges including assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and threats to a public official and their family.
Paul Pelosi said he’s mostly recovered from his injuries, but that he still suffers from lightheadedness and headaches.
“There are still lumps on my head. If I run my fingers, I can still feel dents and lumps,” he said. “They’re not as sensitive to the touch as they were.”
The recovery process was “very painful,” he said. He said that he had not read news related to the incident, nor had he listened to the tapes or watched the videos.
“I’ve tried to put it out of my mind,” he said, taking periodic pauses to maintain his composure.
“I’ve made the best effort I possibly can to not relive this.”
Paul Pelosi took the stand Monday to testify in the trial of David DePape, the man accused of attacking Pelosi with a hammer last year in his San Francisco home. Elise Preston has the details.
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Defense attorneys for the man accused of bludgeoning the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer last year told jurors Thursday they acknowledge their client committed a crime and harbored “bizarre” far-right conspiracy theories, but they disputed federal charges that he attempted to kidnap the congresswoman and assaulted Paul Pelosi in connection with her official duties.
In a lengthy opening argument, federal public defender Jodi Linker said David DePape, 43, broke into the Pelosis’ home during the early morning of Oct. 28, 2022, as part of a broader plan to end corruption, human trafficking, child abuse and other offenses he believed were being committed by the upper echelons of the Democratic Party, including Nancy Pelosi and elected officials such as Rep. Adam Schiff and Gov. Gavin Newsom, and public figures such as actor Tom Hanks and billionaire philanthropist George Soros.
“Members of the jury, many of us do not believe any of that. We think it’s bogus,” Linker said. “You may think it is all lies, harmful lies that are in fact destroying the country. … But the evidence in this trial will show that Mr. DePape believes these things, he believes them with every ounce of his being. He believes them firmly and completely and it is these beliefs, wholly unrelated to Nancy Pelosi’s official duties to Congress, that propelled him to act that night.”
DePape’s ideas, whether true or not, Linker explained to the jury of three women and 12 men, prompted his plan to “stop the wealthy elite, to protect children and end the lies and reveal the truth.”
“And in this court, on these two charges, these beliefs matter,” she added, because the government is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that DePape acted in response to Nancy Pelosi’s official duties.
“That’s definitely not why he did it,” Linker said.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Laura Vartain Horn told the federal court jury that DePape spent months gathering information about the Pelosi family on the internet. He traveled from the East Bay to the couple’s San Francisco home with plans to hold Nancy Pelosi “hostage,” “break her kneecaps” and “teach her a lesson,” she said in her opening arguments.
“When the defendant broke into the speaker’s home, he had a plan,” Horn said, using the large wood-handled hammer, kept in a plastic bag, to reinforce her argument. “It was a violent plan.”
Not able to find Nancy Pelosi that morning, Horn said, DePape “unleashed his violence on the next closest thing to the speaker.”
DePape faces up to a combined 50 years in prison for attempted kidnapping of the former speaker and assaulting Paul Pelosi with the intent to interfere with the lawmaker’s official duties or retaliate against her. He also faces state charges including assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and threats to a public official and their family.
DePape was in court Thursday and had swapped his orange jail jumpsuit for a blue sweater and a collared shirt, his hair tied back in his signature low ponytail. His ex-partner, Gypsy Taub, and their two sons looked on from the gallery, while the Pelosis’ daughter, Christine Pelosi, sat at the rear of the courtroom.
Much of the trial will focus on an unnamed woman listed as Target 1, who was described in court as an anthropologist and queer studies professor at the University of Michigan. DePape had planned to use Nancy Pelosi to “lure” Target 1, Linker said, whose research on feminism, pornography and gender roles he believed was at the “root of harm to children.”
“The evidence will show he had a much larger plan and the stop at the Pelosis’ was only the first stop in that plan,” Linker said.
What “thwarted” his greater plot, she added, was when police arrived at the home. Paul Pelosi had called 911 after DePape broke into the home, and the two were fighting for control of the hammer when officers knocked on the front door.
Police ordered them to drop the weapon, but DePape forced it from Pelosi and struck the 82-year-old man on the head, according to several officer body-camera videos shown in court.
“In that moment, he reacted impulsively and yanked the hammer out of Mr. Pelosi’s hand and he hit him,” Linker said, not because he had a greater plan of assault, but “because [Paul Pelosi] was the one standing there in that moment.”
Prosecutors called as witnesses three officers who had responded to the 911 call, along with Lt. Carla Hurley, who interviewed DePape from his hospital bed while he was being treated for a dislocated shoulder and other injuries. Hurley described portions of the interview, in which DePape wanders into conspiracies about Hillary Clinton, the Watergate scandal and Democrats stealing the election from former President Trump, as “so jarring, so disturbing,” which prompted her to ask about his mental health history.
Despite public questions over DePape’s mental capacity, his attorneys are not expected to raise that argument during trial.
At one point in the interview, DePape said his plan was to question Nancy Pelosi. If she admitted to his conspiracies, he’d let her go. If she didn’t, he’d break her kneecaps, and she’d have to wheel herself into Congress, where other lawmakers could see as an example the consequences of being the “most evil” people on the planet.
“I am not of unwell mind. I knew exactly what I was doing,” he said.
Certain police body camera footage, along with the 911 call, surveillance video of DePape breaking into the home and the police interview after his arrest, was already widely publicized ahead of trial and replayed for the jury on Thursday.
Jurors also saw two photographs of Paul Pelosi lying on his foyer’s wooden floor in a pool of his own blood. Video footage caught what prosecutors referred to as Pelosi’s “agonal breathing,” or what one officer described as the body trying to push oxygen to the brain in a last-ditch effort to stay alive.
In another police body camera video taken shortly after the crime, DePape seems to offer an admission.
“I’m sick of the insane f— level of lies coming out of Washington, D.C.,” he told officers. “I didn’t really want to hurt him, but you know, this was a suicide mission, and you know, with the s— that’s going on in f—Washington, D.C., I’m not just going to stand here and do nothing.
“If you guys need evidence, the evidence is there,” he said. “There is no denying what I did. Cops watched me do it.”
“We’ll stand up to crazy Nancy Pelosi who ruined San Francisco. How’s her husband doing, by the way, anybody know?” said Trump in a speech to the California GOP convention.
“And she’s against building a wall at our border even though she has a wall around her house, which obviously didn’t do a very good job.”
Trump referred to the attack that left Paul Pelosi with serious injuries after a man entered the Pelosis’ San Francisco home in an alleged attempt to kidnap the now-former House Speaker in October 2022.
The suspect, David DePape, pleaded not guilty to charges related to the attack including attempted murder.
Social media users on X (formerly Twitter) ripped the former president for his “disgusting” dig at Paul Pelosi and also knocked the audience for laughing at his remarks.
The former speaker of the House discussed Silicon Valley Bank, January 6 revisionist history, the coming election, and more in a South by Southwest interview focused on money and greed.
Travis P Ball / Getty for SXSW
House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s message at the annual South by Southwest festival could be summarized in three words: Follow the money.
Pelosi uttered that specific phrase—and similar versions of it—several times during her interview with Evan Smith, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, as part of the magazine’s Future of Democracy summit this morning in Austin, Texas.
Pelosi, who represents California’s 11th congressional district, began by discussing the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the anxiety sweeping through not only her home district but the tech and financial industries as a whole. “I don’t think there’s any appetite in this country for bailing out a bank,” she said. “What we would hope to see by tomorrow morning is for some other bank to buy the bank.” She said there were multiple potential buyers, but she couldn’t reveal their names. Pelosi pointed out that former President Donald Trump had authorized the reduction of certain Dodd-Frank protections that had been instituted following the 2008 financial crash: “If they were still in place and the bank had to honor them, this might have been avoided,” she offered. Rather than repeating our recent history and using taxpayer money to rescue the failed institution, Pelosi said the focus should be on protecting depositors and small businesses at risk of closing or not making payroll. “We do not want contagion,” she said.
Pelosi pointed to money—the reckless use and exploitation of it—as the root of virtually every problem facing America and the world today. Whether the potential fallout of a failed bank like SVB or the rise of autocracy around the world, it all comes down to money, money, money, and little else. “Money buying Russian oil is paying for the assault on democracy in Ukraine,” Pelosi said. She accused China of “buying” votes from smaller countries at the United Nations, and said the U.S. must join with the European Union “in using the leverage of this big market to have the playing field be more even.”
Pelosi refused to say Trump’s name even once during her one-hour session, referring to the 45th president instead by “What’s his name” under her breath. Still, she condemned the extremism and anarchy that had overtaken American politics since Trump began his rise nearly eight years ago. Her husband, Paul Pelosi, who was struck in the head with a hammer by a home invader last fall, joined her on today’s trip to Texas, which was unusual, given that he’s still recovering from the attack. “I was the target,” she said. “He paid the price.”
She spoke of the January 6 insurrection with sadness and disgust—anarchists “making poo-poo on the floor of the Capitol”—and acknowledged the rioters’ goal to put a bullet in her head that day. Her successor, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, recently gave a trove of January 6 material to Fox News in the name of governmental transparency. Fox’s biggest star, Tucker Carlson, downplayed the severity of the Capitol storming in a broadcast last week. “Something must be wrong with Tucker Carlson,” Pelosi said. “There’s money that runs a lot of it.”
Taking a brief conciliatory note, she said she was hoping “for the best” for McCarthy as he continues his first year as House speaker. “We need to listen, and I hope that Kevin will listen to other than just the very radical, right-wing fringe of his party,” she said, apparently gesturing at Trump and other election deniers. When asked about the prospect of Trump again becoming the GOP nominee in 2024, she was ready with a canned line: “If he is, we impeached him twice, and he’s gonna lose twice.” (Left unsaid was that neither impeachment resulted in Trump’s removal from office.)
As for President Joe Biden, Pelosi called him a “magnificent leader” and said that she “certainly hopes” he will run again. (She joked that he’s younger than she is.) Nevertheless, Pelosi seemed slightly agitated that Biden had yet to formally declare his candidacy, leaving other potential candidates in the Democratic party with few options. “I think it would be efficient for us to have a president seek reelection, and we should be moving on with it when we can. Whatever decision he makes, we’d like to know.”
“They spent so much time spreading homophobic conspiracy theories insinuating that there was some hidden secret story behind that assault,” he told fellow MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin on Sunday. “And they were obsessed with wanting to see the body cam footage.”
Now released, that footage shows the attack on Pelosi by a hammer-wielding home invader looking for his wife, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was speaker of the House at the time.
The 82-year-old was hospitalized for nearly a week after suffering a fractured skull. Police say the alleged attacker, 42-year-old David DePape, wanted to kidnap the then-speaker, who was not at home.
Hasan played a supercut of Carlson demanding the body cam footage.
“We’re not the crazy people, you’re the liars,” Carlson ranted last year over the lack of footage.
Hasan wondered if Carlson will apologize now that the footage has been released and doesn’t support any of the conspiracy theories.
“No, of course not,” he said, answering his own question. “You simply cannot engage in good faith with these people.”
Mohyeldin agreed, saying the footage was eventually released to appease the “far-right loons” and debunk the conspiracies… to no avail, since they’re already spinning new ones.
“That’s the beauty, Ayman, of being a far-right loon, of being a conspiracy theorist,” Hasan concluded. “You don’t have to worry about evidence. Any evidence to the contrary just becomes part of the conspiracy.”
Twitter CEO Elon Musk finally apologized for promoting a baseless conspiracy theory to his 126 million social media followers about the vicious hammer attack on Paul Pelosi inside his home last October.
“I apologize,” Musk said after a chorus of calls for him to do so Friday when the gruesome video footage captured by the body cams of police arriving on the scene of the assault was released.
Yet Musk pointedly did not denounce or discredit the conspiracy theory that the attack was part of some kind of spat with a male escort. In fact, he indicated in a tweet he still believed it could be true.
After the vicious assault, a number of right-wing Republicans — including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — made light of the crime that fractured the skull of the husband of former speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
Paul Pelosi was rushed to a hospital where he underwent surgery for the skull fracture and to repair serious hand and arm injuries. Donald Trumpexpressed skepticism about the attack.
Others, like Musk, pressed the conspiracy theory that the ugly attack was committed by a man the 82-year-old Pelosi had picked up at a gay bar in San Francisco rather than by a home invader. Their baseless “proof” was that Pelosi appeared to be in his underwear. In fact, he was in his pajamas, in bed, when his home was invaded.
David DePape is currently in prison awaiting trial on several charges in the attack, including attempted murder and elder abuse. In a call from prison Friday to a San Francisco TV station, he reportedly said he regretted that he “didn’t get more of them,” apparently referring to Democratic lawmakers. Investigators said he was after Nancy Pelosi when he broke into the couple’s San Francisco home.
Immediately after the violence, Musk linked to an article in the Santa Monica Observer claiming the attack occurred as a drunk Pelosi was arguing with a male escort. None of that was true. Yet Musk wrote: “There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye.”
Former Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger tweeted on Friday: “Hey @elonmusk care to react to the Pelosi video? You spread the big conspiracy…”
Hey @elonmusk care to react to the Pelosi video? You spread the big conspiracy…
It could not immediately be determined if Musk had reached out to the family to apologize — or if such an apology was accepted, given that he hadn’t denounced his lie.
One Twitter user wrote: “Idiots on the left want @elonmusk to apologize to the Pelosis. For what? It is still a questionable and bizarre situation between two men in their underwear.”
Rather than discredit the conspiracy theory, Musk responded: “Nonetheless, I apologize.”
You’re disgusting.
They were not both in their underwear.
You’re still promoting disinformation while pretending to apologize for it.
— @thomasafine@social.linux.pizza 🇺🇸Thomas A. Fine (@thomasafine) January 28, 2023
They were not in their underwear. We know this BECAUSE WE HAVE THE VIDEO. DePape was in cargo shorts and sneakers and Paul was in his pajama shirt and pajama boxers (was sleeping when DePape broke in). Why are you still doubling down?
Musk’s ugly attack on Pelosi was reminiscent of his shocking slam on British cave explorer Vernon Unsworth, who risked his life participating in the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped for weeks in a flooded Thailand cave in 2018. Amid a Twitter spat about how to rescue the boys, Musk called the rescuer a “pedo,” short for “pedophile.”
After he was sued for defamation in that case, Musk testified in a Los Angeles Court that he used the word “pedo” merely as an “insult” — not as a statement of fact. He only intended to insult the “creepy old man,” Musk insisted.
The man accused of brutally attacking former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer last year expressed regret on Friday that he didn’t do more, according to a jailhouse call that he reportedly had with a California news station.
David DePape shared a stunning lack of remorse for the violence during what was described as an unexpected phone call to KTVU, the San Francisco TV station reported. The call followed the public release of police body camera footage capturing the incident.
“I want to apologize to everyone. I messed up. What I did was really bad. I’m so sorry I didn’t get more of them. It’s my own fault. No one else is to blame. I should have come better prepared,” he told KTVU reporter Amber Lee, according to audio of the call posted online.
His defense attorneys did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment Sunday.
David DePape, charged in last year’s violent attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, said he regrets that he didn’t come “better prepared.”
DePape, who is behind bars on charges of attempted murder, elder abuse and kidnapping, which he’s pleaded not guilty to, reportedly refused questions from Lee reasoning that it could jeopardize his criminal case. Regardless, in the call’s recording he appears to admit to plotting and carrying out the Oct. 28 attack while defending it as taking a stand for Americans’ freedom.
“You’re welcome,” he says after acknowledging the video footage capturing the early morning home invasion that hospitalized 82-year-old Paul Pelosi.
“Freedom and liberty isn’t dying, it’s being killed systemically and deliberately,” he says in the recording. “The people killing it have names and addresses so I got their names and addresses so I could pay them a little visit. Have a heart-to-heart chat about their bad behavior.”
He goes on to say that he’s in the process of setting up a website to spout his conspiracy theories that will be “out of the reach of tyrannical global fascists and their internet censors.” His defense team on Friday requested that he be permitted to use a computer while behind bars so he can review material related to his criminal case, according to a court filing.
One of DePape’s public defenders expressed concern Friday that he may not receive a fair trial following the release of the police body camera footage that shows him wrestling with Pelosi over control of the hammer. He then appears to strike Pelosi over the head with the tool, knocking him unconscious.
“The footage is inflammatory and could feed unfounded theories about this case, and we are extremely concerned about Mr. DePape’s ability to get a fair trial,” San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Adam Lipson told The Associated Press while calling the footage’s release a “terrible mistake.”
The San Francisco Superior Court on Friday released video and audio recorded during last year’s attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, including police body-cam footage depicting the moment of the attack and the alleged assailant’s police interview where he admitted he wanted to hold the then-House speaker hostage.
The video and audio files were released after a California court ruled the district attorney’s office must make the materials public.
One of the videos shows body-cam footage from officers who arrived at Pelosi’s home on October 28, 2022, when he was attacked. The footage shows the chaos of the moment in which alleged assailant David DePape attacked.
In the video, which includes graphic and violent content, Paul Pelosi and DePape both appear to have a hand on the hammer and DePape is holding Pelosi’s arm when the officers opened the door.
“Drop the hammer,” the officer says.
“Uh, nope,” DePape responds.
DePape then grabbed the hammer out of Pelosi’s hand, lunged toward him while striking him in the head. The officers rushed into the home, subduing DePape and handcuffing him.
Court releases video of attack on Paul Pelosi
In addition to the body-cam footage, the files include audio from a police interview with DePape, the 911 call Paul Pelosi made while DePape was in the home and surveillance video showing DePape breaking into the home.
The files were exhibits in a preliminary court hearing. The court’s decision mandating the public release of the materials came following a motion by a coalition of news organizations, including CNN, arguing that the circumstances involving the residence of the then-speaker of the House demanded transparency.
Lawyers for DePape argued against the public release of the audio and footage, writing it would “irreparably damage” his right to a fair trial. DePape has pleaded not guilty to a litany of state and federal crimes related to the attack, including assault and attempted murder.
Speaking briefly to reporters Friday afternoon, Nancy Pelosi said she had “absolutely no intention of seeing the deadly assault on my husband’s life.” She said that Paul Pelosi is “making progress, but it will take more time” and that she would not be making additional public comments about the case.
In the audio recording of a San Francisco police officer’s interview of DePape following his October arrest, DePape admitted to attacking Paul Pelosi and described his plans to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage when he broke into the couple’s San Francisco home.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not trying to, like, get away with this, so, you know, I know exactly what I did,” DePape said toward the beginning of the 17-minute audio clip.
“Well, I was going to basically hold her hostage, and I was going to talk to her,” DePape said of Nancy Pelosi. “If she told the truth, I’d let her go scot-free. If she f**king lied, I was going to break her kneecaps.”
In the interview, DePape embraced conspiracy theories about Democrats and Pelosi, complaining about a Democratic “crime spree” and baselessly claiming that Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats had spied on former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
“They are the criminals,” DePape said.
The officer walked DePape through his break-in of the Pelosi house and his encounter with Paul Pelosi. When he was asked why he didn’t leave after Paul Pelosi called the police, DePape compared himself to the Founding Fathers’ fighting the British.
“When I left my house, I left to go fight tyranny. I did not leave to go surrender,” he said.
DePape explained why he attacked Paul Pelosi after the police arrived, when they both were holding onto a hammer. “He thinks that I’ll just surrender, and it’s like, I didn’t come there to surrender,” DePape said. “And I told him that I would go through him. And so I basically yank it away from him and hit him.”
In the 911 call audio, Pelosi seemed to be subtly attempting to tell the dispatcher he was in danger while DePape was listening in. CNN has previously reported Pelosi made the call when he went into his bathroom, where his cell phone was charging.
“There’s a gentleman here just waiting for my wife to come back, Nancy Pelosi. He’s just waiting for her to come back, but she’s not going to be here for days, so I guess we’ll have to wait,” Pelosi said to the dispatcher.
“He thinks everything’s good. I’ve got a problem, but he thinks everything’s good,” Pelosi said at another point in the 2-minute, 56-second recording.
The dispatcher asked Pelosi if he knew who the man was, and Pelosi said he did not. “He’s telling me to put the phone down and just do what he says,” Pelosi said.
“Who is David?” the dispatcher asked.
“I don’t know,” Pelosi said.
DePape then spoke up on the call. “I’m a friend of theirs,” he said.
“He says he’s a friend. But as I said …” Pelosi said.
“But you don’t know who he is?” the dispatcher responded.
“No ma’am,” Pelosi said.
In the surveillance footage, DePape is seen breaking into the Pelosi home. The scene was captured by a US Capitol Police security camera installed at Pelosi’s San Francisco residence.
The attack on Paul Pelosi was a factor in Nancy Pelosi’s decision to step back from House Democratic leadership, she has said previously.
Exclusive: Pelosi recounts moment she learned that her husband was attacked
Court documents revealed DePape allegedly woke Paul Pelosi shortly after 2 a.m., carrying a large hammer and several white zip ties, and demanded: “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?” He then threatened to tie up Paul Pelosi and prevented him from escaping via elevator, according to the documents. DePape later allegedly told him, “I can take you out.”
Following the attack, Paul Pelosi underwent surgery “to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” a spokesman for Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. On Thursday, Nancy Pelosi said her husband’s recovery was “one day at a time.” She said she didn’t know if she would see the video when it was released.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
Bodycamera footage of the brutal attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, has been released, and the congresswoman has shared her thoughts on the disturbing video. While speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill on Friday, Pelosi said she has “no intention” of seeing the assault on her husband.
Paul Pelosi, 82, was attacked at the couple’s San Francisco home in October. A man, later identified as David DePape, wielding a hammer, broke into the home and Pelosi called the police. The congresswoman was in Washington, D.C., at the time.
When police arrived, their bodycameras captured the assault on Paul Pelosi. On Friday, the bodycam footage was released, after San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy ruled there was no reason to keep it secret.
In the video, police knock on the front door, which Pelosi answers with DePape standing next to him. Both of them are holding onto the hammer, and after talking to the police for a few seconds, DePape swings it at Pelosi. The police officers charge at DePape and arrest him.
In addition to the bodycamera footage, audio from the 911 call Pelosi made, security footage from cameras set up by Capitol Police outside the home and an interview with DePape conducted by a police officer, were also released on Friday.
The former House speaker has not heard the 911 call, or “the confession,” she told reporters Friday, apparently referring to the interview video. “I have not seen the break-in and I have absolutely no intention of seeing the deadly assault on my husband’s life,” she said.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi said her husband “is making progress, but it will take more time.” Paul Pelosi’s injuries included a fractured skull, which required surgery, and injuries to his arms and hands.
She told reporters that she would not speak further about the case, except to thank people for their support and to inform them of her husband’s progress.
The security footage taken outside of the house shows the suspect peering inside from the yard, putting on gloves and using a hammer to smash a window. He then climbs through the window.
DePape allegedly intended to kidnap the longtime Democratic elected official and told officers he wanted to “break her kneecaps,” according to authorities.
Authorities also found zip ties in Pelosi’s bedroom and hallway near the house’s front door, “a roll of tape, white rope, one hammer, one pair of rubber and cloth gloves, and a journal” in the suspect’s backpack.
DePape has pleaded not guilty to all six charges he is facing.
San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Adam Lipson, who represents DePape, said he thought it was “a terrible mistake” to release the video and other evidence in the case.
A California court on Wednesday ruled that the San Francisco district attorney’s office must make public the 911 audio calls, police body camera footage and home surveillance video recorded the night of the attack at the Pelosis’ San Francisco home last year. Audio from police interviews with David DePape, the alleged attacker, must also be made public, the court ruled.
The decision came following a motion by a coalition of news organizations, including CNN, seeking the release of the material.
It’s not immediately clear how soon the material will be made public.
DePape has pleaded not guilty to a litany of state and federal crimes, including assault and attempted murder. His lawyers argued against the public release of the audio and footage, writing it would “irreparably damage” his right to a fair trial.
Paul Pelosi was violently attacked in October with a hammer at the couple’s home by a male assailant who was searching for the House speaker, according to court documents – a development that ultimately drove then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to leave House Democratic leadership.
Pelosi underwent surgery “to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands” following the incident, a spokesman for Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. The California Democratic congresswoman told CNN last week that while her husband is “doing OK,” it will still “take a little while for him to be back to normal.”
Court documents revealed DePape allegedly woke Paul Pelosi shortly after 2 a.m., carrying a large hammer and several white zip ties, and demanded: “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?” He then threatened to tie up Paul Pelosi and prevented him from escaping via elevator, according to the documents. DePape later allegedly told him, “I can take you out.”
Pelosi placed a 911 call during the attack after convincing the assailant to let him go to the bathroom, where his phone was charging, and he spoke cryptically to police. CNN previously reported that police body cam footage from the incident is expected to show what officers saw when Paul Pelosi opened the door and his assailant attacked him with a hammer, fracturing his skull.
A limited number of Pelosi family members met with authorities in November to listen to the call and to view the footage, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins told Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room” at the time, confirming details first reported by CNN.
Asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper in early November whether she wanted to hear the call her husband placed, Nancy Pelosi said, “I don’t think so. I don’t know if I’ll have to. I just don’t know. That’s all a matter on the legal side of things.” But she added, “Paul saved his own life with that call.”
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Footage of the attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband will be released to the public after a judge on Wednesday denied prosecutors’ request to keep it secret.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy ruled there was no reason to keep the footage secret, especially after prosecutors played it in open court during a preliminary hearing last month, according to Thomas R. Burke, a San Francisco-based lawyer who represented The Associated Press and a host of other news agencies in their attempt to access the evidence.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office handed over the evidence to Murphy on Wednesday following a court hearing. Murphy asked the court clerk’s office to distribute it to the media, which could happen as soon as Thursday.
Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi’s husband, was asleep at the couple’s San Francisco home on Oct. 28 when someone broke in and beat him with a hammer. Prosecutors have charged 42-year-old David DePape in connection with the attack.
During a preliminary hearing last month, prosecutors played portions of Paul Pelosi’s 911 call plus footage from Capitol police surveillance cameras, body cameras worn by the two police officers who arrived at the house, and video from DePape’s interview with police.
But when news organizations asked for copies of that evidence, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office refused to release it. The attack, which occurred just days before the 2022 midterm elections, prompted intense speculation from the public that fueled the spread of false information.
The district attorney’s office argued releasing the footage publicly would only allow people to manipulate it in their quest to spread false information.
But the news agencies argued it was vital for prosecutors to publicly share their evidence that could debunk any false information swirling on the internet about the attack.
“You don’t eliminate the public right of access just because of concerns about conspiracy theories,” Burke said.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office did not respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.
The news agencies who sought the release of the footage includes The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Press Democrat, CNN, Fox News, CBS, ABC, NBC and KQED, an NPR-member radio station in San Francisco.
DePape pleaded not guilty last month to six charges, including attempted murder. Police have said DePape told them there was “evil in Washington” and he wanted to harm Nancy Pelosi because she was second in line to the presidency. His case is pending.
Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives after the midterm elections. Republicans elected California Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy as the new speaker. Pelosi will remain in Congress, but she stepped down as Democratic leader. She was replaced by Hakeem Jeffries from New York.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy ruled there was no reason to keep the footage secret, especially after prosecutors played it in open court during a preliminary hearing last month, according to Thomas R. Burke, a San Francisco-based lawyer who represented CBS News, The Associated Press and a host of other news agencies in their attempt to access the evidence.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office handed over the evidence to Murphy on Wednesday following a court hearing. Murphy asked the court clerk’s office to distribute it to the media, which could happen as soon as Thursday.
Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi’s husband, was asleep at the couple’s San Francisco home on Oct. 28 when someone broke in and beat him with a hammer. Prosecutors have charged 42-year-old David DePape in connection with the attack.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul Pelosi, top center, during an event hosting the Golden State Warriors in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 17, 2023.
Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images
During a preliminary hearing last month, prosecutors played portions of Paul Pelosi’s 911 call plus footage from Capitol police surveillance cameras, body cameras worn by the two police officers who arrived at the house, and video from DePape’s interview with police.
But when news organizations asked for copies of that evidence, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office refused to release it. The attack, which occurred just days before the 2022 midterm elections, prompted intense speculation from the public that fueled the spread of false information.
The district attorney’s office argued releasing the footage publicly would only enable people to manipulate it in their quest to spread false information.
But the news agencies argued it was vital for prosecutors to publicly share their evidence that could debunk any false information swirling on the internet about the attack.
“You don’t eliminate the public right of access just because of concerns about conspiracy theories,” Burke said.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office did not respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.
The news agencies who sought the release of the footage also included The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Press Democrat, CNN, Fox News, ABC, NBC and KQED, an NPR-member radio station in San Francisco.
DePape pleaded not guilty last month to six charges, including attempted murder. Police have said DePape told them there was “evil in Washington” and he wanted to harm Nancy Pelosi because she was second in line to the presidency. His case is pending.
Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives after the midterm elections. Republicans elected California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy as the new speaker. Pelosi will remain in Congress, but she stepped down as Democratic leader. She was replaced by Hakeem Jeffries from New York.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a devout Catholic, had priests attempt an exorcism of her San Francisco home after the hammer attack there on husband Paul Pelosi, her daughter said.
Paul Pelosi’s skull was fractured in the October home invasion and he continues to recover. David DePape, awaiting trial on attempted murder charges, reportedly told police he intended to kidnap and harm the lawmaker because she was second in line to the presidency. But she was in Washington at the time.
“I think that weighed really heavy on her soul,” Alexandra Pelosi told The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd in a column published Saturday. “I think she felt really guilty. I think that really broke her. Over Thanksgiving, she had priests coming, trying to have an exorcism of the house and having prayer services.”
The exact nature of the exorcism, a religious rite intended to expel evil, was not revealed. Or even whether an actual exorcism took place. Pelosi’s Washington office didn’t reply immediately to HuffPost’s request for comment early Tuesday.
Pelosi took a ribbing from political opponents after her daughter’s revelation.
“Will she also be coordinating [an exorcism] for the speaker’s office?” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said, per the New York Post.
A clergy member at Pelosi’s local Roman Catholic parish said his staff did not participate in an exorcism at her home, the tabloid reported.
Pelosi and her husband were spotted recently at the Broadway play “Leopoldstadt.”
“He’s been out a bit because the doctor said he has to have something to look forward to,” the lawmaker said last weekend. “So again, one day at a time.”
Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi pose backstage at the hit play “Leopoldstadt” on Broadway at The Longacre Theater on January 14, 2023, in New York City.
A brand new Republican member of Congress from Florida tweeted a shocking joke about the 2022 vicious home invasion beating of 82-year-old Paul Pelosi, husband of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
“Finally,” slammed new Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), “one less gavel in the Pelosi house for Paul to fight with in his underwear.”
The ugly tweet was apparently Mills’ version of a celebration of the ascendency to House speaker of Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Mills was also making fun of the brutal attack on Paul Pelosi, who was beaten with a hammer in the middle of the night last October by a violent Republican sympathizer allegedly out to get a list of Democratic targets.
Officials said DePape had planned to kidnap Nancy Pelosi — who was in Washington at the time of the attack — when he broke into the couple’s San Francisco home. Instead, law enforcement authorities said the 42-year-old defendant severely beat her husband with a hammer in an attack that was witnessed by two police officers. The assault shocked America.
Pelosi was knocked unconscious and woke up in a pool of his own blood. He underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands.
The message by Mills, who is an Army combat veteran, was retweeted by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who said he wanted the public to “see the indecency that makes up the House GOP.”
“He owes Speaker Pelosi an apology,” Swalwell added.
Mills flippantly responded to Swalwell: “You owe America an apology.”
Mills could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mills was roundly bashed by critics. Twitter users’ responses to Mills appeared to be almost universally, scathingly negative.
I pay your salary. Respect! Appears you have never heard of it!
Rep Mills, do you not see how your tweet is grossly inappropriate and vile? As a fellow veteran, you have brought shame on the rest of us veterans, and should apologize immediately for your hatefulness 😡🇺🇸
Oh my god. I just can not get used to this level of disrespect. And isn’t it ironic that these people say our country is on the wrong track and they’re the ones who will turn it around?
5th gen Florida / 4th gen law enforcement fam, and we’re all in agreement on this:
You don’t deserve the office you hold. You embarrass all of us, nationwide, with your disgusting immaturity. Grow up and do your damn job, or step down. I promise you, we voters will remember.
