SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man who allegedly assaulted the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there was “evil in Washington” and he had no intention of targeting Paul Pelosi , a San Francisco police sergeant testified Wednesday.
The suspect, David DePape, broke into Pelosis’ San Francisco home on Oct. 28 in an attempt to kidnap the speaker — who was out of town — and instead beat her 82-year-old husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer, authorities said. The violence sent shock waves through the political world.
DePape, who wore an orange jumpsuit during a preliminary hearing in state court, has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges, including attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse. He remains held without bail.
Sergeant Carla Hurley, who interviewed DePape for an hour on the day of the attack, said the defendant told her he was looking for the speaker and told her husband he was not part of the plan.
Still, DePape told Paul Pelosi, “I can knock you out, I can knock you out,” Hurley testified.
Hurley said DePape told her that after seeing the lights of a police patrol car, he told Paul Pelosi, “I’m not going to surrender, I’m here to fight.” If you stop me from going after people, you will take the punishment instead.”
Prosecutors presented the hammer allegedly used in the attack during Wednesday’s proceedings, which were attended by Christine Pelosi, one of the Pelosis’ five adult children.
The district attorney’s office also played audio from Paul Pelosi’s 911 call to the San Francisco Police Department in the courtroom and showed video footage — less than a minute long — of the attack captured on body cameras. The 911 dispatcher is widely credited with sending two officers to the couple’s home despite limited information.
In November, Nancy Pelosi said she will step down as Democratic leader after 20 years as leader of the party. Paul Pelosi, her husband of nearly 60 years, received a standing ovation earlier this month when the couple attended the Kennedy Center Honors – his first public appearance since the attack. Christine Pelosi, a Democratic operative and lawyer, is being considered as a potential successor when the speaker retires, though she has never held elected office.
DePape (dih-PAP’) told police he was on a “suicide mission” and had plans to attack other California and federal politicians, court documents say. Authorities have said he was attracted to conspiracy theories.
DePape allegedly made his way to the Pelosis house, confronted Paul Pelosi, who was sleeping in boxer shorts and a pajama top, and demanded to know where “Nancy” was.
DePape then allegedly told Paul Pelosi that if Nancy Pelosi told him the “truth” he would let her go and if she lied he would break her kneecaps,” the suit alleges.
Paul Pelosi was eventually able to call 911 to summon the San Francisco Police Department. Officers arrived two minutes later to see the two men struggling for a hammer, and then DePape punched Pelosi at least once before being tackled by officers.
San Francisco Police Officer Kyle Cagney, who was one of the two first responding officers, testified Wednesday that he saw both men holding the hammer as the door opened. DePape did not follow the officers’ orders to drop the weapon and instead lunged at Paul Pelosi and swung the hammer at him, Cagney said.
Paul Pelosi was knocked unconscious and woke up in a pool of his own blood. He later underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands.
Speaker Pelosi was in Washington at the time and under the protection of her security detail, which does not extend to family members. Threats against lawmakers and election officials are at an all-time high since the January 6, 2021 uprising at the Capitol, and authorities have warned of rising extremism in the US.
One of the judges in DePape’s state case, Judge Loretta “Lori” Giorgi, revealed last month that she had worked with Christine Pelosi at the San Francisco city attorney’s office in the 1990s, but had been out of touch for years. had had. While neither side officially objected to Giorgi, the case was handed over to a new judge – as is customary – for the preliminary hearing.
