Comment SAN FRANCISCO — The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and attacking her husband with a hammer reportedly told police he was on a “suicide mission” and had a target list of state and federal politicians as part of of his attempt to combat “lies” coming out of Washington. David Wayne DePape, 42, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco County Superior Court where he faced multiple state charges related to the attack on Paul Pelosi, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary, false imprisonment and threatening the life or serious bodily harm of a public official. Prosecutors pushed for DePape to be held without bail, citing the “extreme risk to public safety he poses.” The judge ordered DePape held until a bail hearing is scheduled. DePape was also granted an order of protection requiring him to stay at least 150 feet away from the Pelosis and their home. Through public defender Adam Lipson, DePape pleaded not guilty. The attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband follows years of the GOP demonizing her Court documents filed Tuesday in the state case offered new details about the harrowing incident and more about the suspect’s alleged plans. DePape allegedly used a hammer to break into the House speaker’s home in San Francisco early Friday. Upstairs, she found her 82-year-old husband, Paul, asleep. “Are you Paul Pelosi?” DePape allegedly asked, according to the state’s filing, as he stood over him holding a large hammer in his right hand and “several white plastic zip ties” in his left hand. “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?’ When Paul Pelosi said he wouldn’t be coming home for days, DePape allegedly said he would wait and tried to tie Pelosi up, according to the federal complaint. Prosecutors said Paul Pelosi tried to access an elevator to use a phone inside to call for help, but Depp allegedly blocked him. Asked by Paul Pelosi why she wanted to speak to the speaker of the House, DePape reportedly told him, “Well, she’s number two in line for the presidency, right?” When Paul Pelosi “agreed,” DePape “replied, ‘They’re all corrupt,’ and ‘We’ve got to get them out,’” the filing says. Read the court filing for the Nancy Pelosi home burglary Trying to escape, Paul Pelosi then asked to use the bathroom, where his phone was charging and he was able to call 911. According to prosecutors, Paul Pelosi tried to “defuse the situation” and told the 911 operator that “no police, fire or medical assistance was needed.” “Trying to be calm and discreet while still trying to help the mission understand the situation, Mr. Pelosi then called for the Capitol Police because they are usually at home protecting his wife,” the court document states. The dispatcher told Paul Pelosi that he was calling the San Francisco Police Department. “This gentleman just came into the house and he wants to wait for my wife to come home,” he told the 911 operator, according to the court document. Paul Pelosi gave the operator his name and address. When the operator asked the name of the man with him, DePape allegedly replied, “My name is David.” DePape reportedly told Paul Pelosi to tell the 911 operator that he was a friend of the Pelosi family. But Pelosi confirmed to the dispatcher that he did not know the man. When the 911 operator asked if Paul Pelosi was OK, he replied, “No, he wants me to get the hell off the phone.” San Francisco police officers who responded to the Pelosis’ home encountered an open door where they saw Paul Pelosi and DePape struggling for control of a hammer. When officers told DePape to drop the hammer, he allegedly wrestled the tool free and attacked Paul Pelosi, hitting him in the head and knocking him unconscious. “Mr. Pelosi remained unresponsive for three minutes, waking up in a pool of his own blood,” the complaint against Depapp said. Prosecutors called the attack “near fatal.” The filing says DePape told officers he “acted alone.” “I’m sick and tired of the insane level of lies coming out of Washington, D.C. I came here to talk to his wife,” DePape reportedly told police. “I didn’t really mean to hurt him, but you know this was a suicide mission. I’m not going to stand here and do nothing even if it costs me my life… I’ll pass him if I have to.” After his arrest, DePape allegedly admitted that he “intended to enter the house to take Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and if Speaker Pelosi lied to him, he intended to break her knees,” according to prosecutors. He said he saw “Ring cameras everywhere” and knew he would be caught on camera. According to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent, DePape claimed that Nancy Pelosi was the “leader of the pack” of lies told by the Democratic Party and that if she broke her knees “she should then be taken to Congress, something that would show other members of Congress that actions had consequences.” DePape also claimed he wanted to “use Nancy to lure another person” to him, according to the federal complaint. Tuesday’s motion for DePape’s arrest said the man allegedly “names several targets, including a local teacher, several prominent state and federal politicians and relatives of those state and federal politicians.” In court Tuesday, DePape appeared in a heavily guarded courtroom filled with several rows of reporters. Heavy with shaggy brown hair that reached his shoulders, DePape wore an orange sweatshirt that barely fit his large frame, the shirt draped over his right arm, which was in a sling. Lipson, a San Francisco deputy public defender appointed during the hearing to represent DePape, told reporters after the hearing that his client suffered a dislocated shoulder during his arrest. He said his client remained in the hospital until Tuesday, when he was taken to the San Francisco County Jail, where he is being held. He declined to say whether that detention is related to mental health issues. Lipson asked for the bail argument to be held in a separate hearing, but told reporters that his client had been placed in federal custody, meaning DePape likely won’t be released anytime soon. Lipson said he had not yet reviewed police reports from the incident and would not comment further on Depapp’s defense. “What I will say is that there has been a lot of speculation about Mr. DePape’s vulnerability to disinformation, and that’s certainly something we’re going to look into,” Lipson said. Another hearing was scheduled for Friday in the case, although a court spokesman said DePape had waived his right to attend. DePape also faces federal charges related to Friday’s attack, including assault and attempted kidnapping. It was not immediately clear when he would make his first appearance in that case. State and federal prosecutions were expected to proceed simultaneously. DePape faces 13 years to life in prison if convicted of the state charges. On Monday, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins described the incident as a “politically motivated” attack and sought to dispute conspiracy theories swirling around the incident, saying Depp and Paul Pelosi did not know each other. Paul Pelosi remains at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital after surgery for injuries he suffered in the attack, including a fractured skull. In a statement issued Monday night, Nancy Pelosi said her husband was making “steady progress in a long recovery process.”
