In a chilling federal complaint, officials say David DePape, 42, carrying zip ties and tape in a backpack, broke into the couple’s San Francisco home early Friday morning, went upstairs where 82-year-old Paul Pelosi was sleeping and demanded talk in “Nancy”. When Paul Pelosi told the intruder he wasn’t there, DePape, who was born in Canada, said he would wait — even after being told he wouldn’t be home for a few days. Both San Francisco’s district attorney and police chief strongly rejected mocking jokes and conspiracy theories about the attack sent by far-right operatives and even some top Republicans just a week before a tough congressional election. DePape told police of his plans to hold Speaker Pelosi hostage to “talk to her” and viewed her “as the ‘leader of the pack’” of lies told by the Democratic Party, the eight-page complaint states. “If she told DePape the ‘truth,’ he would let her go, and if she ‘lied,’ he would break her knees,” the complaint states. “By breaking Nancy’s knees, she would then have to be wheeled into Congress, which would show other members of Congress that there were consequences to actions,” he says. WATCHES | The attacker reportedly shouted “Where’s Nancy?”:
Nancy Pelosi’s husband attacked with a hammer
US House Speaker Paul Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked in their San Francisco home by a hammer-wielding man who reportedly shouted, “Where’s Nancy, where’s Nancy?” DePape is federally charged with influencing, obstructing or retaliating against a federal official by threatening or injuring a family member. He also faces one count of attempted kidnapping of a United States official on official duty. The announcement of the federal charges comes as the San Francisco District Attorney is set to announce criminal charges against De Pape as well. It was not immediately clear if DePape had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. The family described DePape as estranged, and he was known by some in San Francisco as a nudist activist who seemed to espouse a number of conspiracy theories. The federal complaint said he had been living for the past two years in a garage at a residence in Richmond, California. Police were dispatched to the home in the upscale Pacific Heights neighborhood around 2:20 a.m. PT Friday after Paul Pelosi called 911. Jenkins said Depp broke in the back door and went upstairs to confront him. Police said they arrived to see the two men fighting over a hammer, when Depp struck Pelosi at least once before officers tackled him.
Toxic political climate
Paul Pelosi remains in the hospital. Speaker Pelosi, who was in Washington at the time, quickly returned to California. Unlike presidents, congressional leaders have security protection for themselves, but not their families. In the ambulance on the way to the hospital, Paul Pelosi told police he had never seen DePape before, the complaint said. The attack was a disturbing echo of the January 6, 2021 riot on Capitol Hill, when rioters trying to overturn Joe Biden’s election loss to Donald Trump stormed the halls chanting eerily “Where’s Nancy?” The zippers were another similarity to Jan. 6 when rioters in ties showed up at the Capitol. Trump supporters protest inside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The attack on Pelosi’s home echoed the riots in Washington, D.C., when rioters trying to overturn Joe Biden’s election defeat of Donald Trump stormed the halls chanting “Where is it nancy?’ (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images) In the toxic political climate, a week before midterm elections, tensions are high with a record number of security threats against lawmakers and other officials. The beating follows other attacks and threats against high-profile and political figures in the U.S. This summer, a man armed with a gun, a knife and a zipper was arrested near the Maryland home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh after threatening to kill him. In 2017, Republican Congressman Steve Scalise was seriously injured when a Bernie Sanders supporter opened fire on Republicans at a congressional baseball practice game.
He was expelled from the extreme right
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins also dismissed conspiracy theories about the attack, confirming that the gunman was targeting the Democratic leader when he broke into the couple’s home. “At the time the suspect had entered the Pelosi home, he was actually looking for Mrs. Pelosi,” Jenkins told reporters late Sunday in San Francisco. “The other thing is we want to make it clear that there were only two people in the house when the police arrived, Mr. Pelosi and the suspect, there was no third person,” he said. “We have nothing to indicate that these two men knew each other prior to this incident.” The prosecutor’s remarks come as the horrific attack is being mocked and dismissed on conservative, far-right social media, even among some Republican leaders and those at the highest levels of social power. San Francisco’s police chief also said the attack was targeted. Elon Musk over the weekend posted and then deleted a fringe website’s widespread conspiracy theories to its millions of followers, as the Twitter market has raised concerns that the social media platform will no longer seek to curb misinformation and hate speech. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., was among those who shed light on the attack on Paul Pelosi, tweeting a joke about a Halloween costume incident.
