Pelosi’s accused attacker to appear in court as new evidence is presented
SAN FRANCISCO - Prosecutors are expected to unveil new evidence Wednesday against the man accused of breaking into the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and bludgeoning her husband with a hammer.
David DePape is set to appear in court here for a hearing related to the attack in late October on Paul Pelosi, 82. Prosecutors have charged him with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse, and they are seeking to convince a San Francisco County Superior Court judge that the case should go to a trial.
The material that may surface could be dramatic: Body cameras worn by responding police officers captured “the unprovoked and brutal attack,” according to a court filing. That footage, along with Pelosi’s recorded call to 911, would shed new light on the assault against the partner of one of the nation’s most influential Democratic lawmakers.
“There is evidence pouring in every single day,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said last month.
Pelosi sustained a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands, confining him to a hospital for nearly a week while he underwent surgery and recovered. Prosecutors said the beating was “near fatal.” Pelosi made his first public appearance since the attack earlier this month, accompanying his wife to the Kennedy Center Honors in D.C., where he was met with a roaring standing ovation from the star-studded audience.
The assault came during a period of rising violence and vicious rhetoric aimed at leaders, lawmakers and government officials. Nancy Pelosi has for years been the target of right-wing demonization - vilification that culminated around 2 a.m. on Oct. 28, when prosecutors say DePape broke into Pelosi’s home.
“Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?” DePape asked, according to the court filing, echoing the chilling chants of some in the mob of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“I am sick of the insane f—-ing level of lies coming out of Washington, D.C.,” DePape allegedly told police at the scene, where he was found with zip ties and two hammers. “I came here to have a little chat with his wife.”
But the lawmaker, in Washington ahead of the midterm elections, was not home.
DePape, whose descent into hateful extremism left a messy public trail, later told investigators he intended to take the House speaker hostage and that he viewed her as “the ‘leader of the pack’ of lies told by the Democratic Party,” according to a separate affidavit filed by an FBI agent. DePape said he planned to break Nancy Pelosi’s kneecaps so that “she would then have to be wheeled into Congress,” sending a message to other members of Congress, the document said.
The affidavit was filed as part of federal authorities’ case against DePape as part of the multi-jurisdictional effort to prosecute the attack. The federal charges against him include attempting to kidnap a federal official and assaulting an immediate relative of a federal official. DePape has pleaded not guilty in the state and federal cases, which are expected to proceed simultaneously. If convicted of the state charges, DePape will face 13 years to life in prison.
After DePape’s arraignment last month, his public defender, Adam Lipson, told reporters that “there’s been a lot of speculation regarding Mr. DePape’s vulnerability to misinformation, and that’s certainly something we’re going to look into.”
DePape, a Canadian citizen who immigration officials say was in the United States illegally, is being held in the San Francisco County jail without bond. Lipson said a federal hold had been placed on DePape, which means his client probably will not be released anytime soon.
The San Francisco district attorney’s office said Wednesday’s preliminary hearing is “a key milestone” in the case. To persuade Judge Stephen Murphy to try the case, prosecutors must provide enough evidence that DePape committed the crime, a lower bar than determining guilt or innocence.
The court expected a large crowd to attend the hearing, including journalists, witnesses and perhaps some of Pelosi’s family members.
In her most detailed comments since the episode, Nancy Pelosi said last month that she has been racked by trauma and something akin to survivor’s guilt.
“It’s so sad for our country,” she said.