Paul Pelosi attack: Suspect faces federal charges after allegedly assaulting victim with hammer
10/31/2022 2:19 pm PDT
SAN FRANCISCO (TCD) -- The suspect accused of intentionally breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s household and attacking her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer has been charged in federal court.
According to the criminal complaint from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, on Friday, Oct. 28, at around 2:23 a.m., Paul Pelosi called San Francisco Dispatch from his bathroom and said something "to the effect of 'There is a male in the home and that the male is going to wait for Pelosi’s wife.'"
The complaint said San Francisco Police Department officers responded to the Pelosi household and officers observed David DePape and Paul Pelosi holding a hammer through an open door. While outside the doorway, officers told the two to drop the hammer, and DePape allegedly attacked Pelosi in the head.
The suspect was able to break into the home through the rear door, the San Francisco Police Department said in a press conference posted by KRON-TV.
Pelosi was hit at least one time and suffered blunt force injuries, police said.
DePape was reportedly taken into custody. At the scene, the complaint said authorities recovered a cellphone, cash, and transit Clipper cards. Police also found zip ties in Pelosi’s bedroom and a roll of tape, white rope, one hammer, one pair of rubber and cloth gloves, and a journal, according to the complaint.
During the ambulance ride, Pelosi told a San Francisco Police Department officer that while he was asleep, the suspect went into his bedroom and "stated he wanted to talk to 'Nancy.'" Pelosi reportedly told him she wasn’t home, and the suspect allegedly said he would "sit and wait."
According to the complaint, Pelosi told DePape that his wife was going to be gone for several days. Pelosi allegedly went to the bathroom, where he was able to call 911. When officers arrived, that’s when DePape allegedly attacked him with the hammer.
DePape told San Francisco Police Department Officers that "he was going to hold Nancy hostage and talk to her," the complaint alleges. He reportedly went on to say that if Nancy told the "truth," he would let her go, but if she "lied, he was going to break her kneecaps."
The complaint said DePape told authorities he saw Nancy as the "'leader of the pack' of lies told by the Democratic Party." The suspect reportedly said if he broke Nancy’s kneecaps, she would "have to be wheeled into Congress, which would show other members of Congress there were consequences to actions."
On Monday, Oct. 31, DePape was reportedly charged with assault and attempted kidnapping.
Prior to the alleged hammer attack, DePape was known to be part of a nudist advocacy group and had picketed naked at protests against laws requiring people to be clothed in public, KRON reports. He also reportedly posted false claims about COVID vaccines and climate change, and he shared a drawing of a zombified Hillary Clinton eating human flesh.
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