David DePape, the man arrested for assaulting the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, made his first appearance in a San Francisco court on Wednesday, where new details about the attack were revealed.
Prosecutors presented evidence during the preliminary hearing, including audio of the 911 call made by Paul Pelosi during the October 28 break-in of the Pelosis’ home and body-camera footage from officers that showed DePape striking him in the head with a hammer. Pelosi, 82, was hospitalized with a skull fracture requiring surgery and injuries to his hand. DePape is charged with state and federal crimes alleging, among other things, that he intended to kidnap the Speaker who was away in Washington, D.C., at the time.
According to a transcript of the 911 call, Pelosi tells the dispatcher, “There is a gentleman here waiting for my wife to come, waiting for my wife to come back.” He later says on the call, “I’ve got a problem, but he says everything is good. The gentleman came into the house.”
When the dispatcher asks if he knows who the man is, Pelosi replies, “No, I don’t know who he is. He told me not to do anything.”
Footage from police body cameras shows the moment when officers arrived on the scene. The Washington Post reports that the clip shows Pelosi and DePape each with a hand on a hammer. When an officer tells them to drop the hammer, DePape responds, “Um, nope,” and immediately lunges at Pelosi and strikes him in the head.
Following his arrest, DePape was interviewed by officers where he revealed his motive for the attack and also spoke of additional targets he had on his list. According to CNN, a police officer who interviewed DePape testified that he believed there was “evil in Washington” and also said DePape intended to go after other prominent individuals, such as actor Tom Hanks, California governor Gavin Newsom, and Hunter Biden, the youngest son of President Joe Biden and the target of a campaign of right-wing attacks.
A judge determined that there’s enough evidence for a trial to go forward against DePape and he will be arraigned on December 28, according to the Los Angeles Times.
