Photo: David Depape is shown in Berkeley, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 13, 2013
The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home, beating her husband and seeking to kidnap her told police he was on a “suicide mission” and had plans to target other California and federal politicians, according to a Tuesday court filing.
David DePape was ordered held without bail during his arraignment Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court. His public defender entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. It was his first public appearance since the early Friday attack.
In the court filing, prosecutors detailed the attack in stark terms as part of their bid to keep DePape behind bars. Paul Pelosi was knocked unconscious by the hammer attack and woke up in a pool of his own blood, the filing said.
DePape’s intent “could not have been clearer,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins wrote in the filing: “He forced his way into the Pelosi home intending to take the person third in line to the presidency of the United States hostage and to seriously harm her. Thwarted by Speaker Pelosi’s absence, Defendant continued on his quest and would not be stopped, culminating in the near fatal attack on Mr. Pelosi.”
Without being questioned, DePape told officers and medics at the scene that he was sick of the “lies coming out of Washington D.C.,” the filing said. “I didn’t really want to hurt him, but you know this was a suicide mission. I’m not going to stand here and do nothing even if it cost me my life.”
DePape allegedly told first responders he had other targets, including a local professor as well as several prominent state and federal politicians and members of their families. The filing did not name any potential targets.
“This case demands detention,” Jenkins wrote. “Nothing less.”
Wearing orange jail clothing and with his right arm in a sling, DePape only spoke during his arraignment Tuesday to tell Judge Diane Northway how to pronounce his last name (dih-PAP’).
After the hearing, DePape’s public defender Adam Lipson said he looks forward to providing him with a “vigorous legal defense.” He said his 42-year-old client’s shoulder was dislocated during the arrest.
“We’re going to be doing a comprehensive investigation of what happened. We’re going to be looking into Mr. DePape’s mental state, and I’m not going to talk any further about that until I have more information,” Lipson said.
He later said he was pleased that Paul Pelosi was improving and urged the public not to pass judgment on what he called “a complicated situation.”
The attack on 82-year-old Paul Pelosi sent shockwaves through the political world just days before the hotly contested midterm elections. Threats against lawmakers and elections officials have been at all-time highs in this first nationwide election since the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, and authorities have issued warnings about rising extremism in the U.S.
DePape faces state charges of attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse. He also faces federal charges including attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official.
While prosecutors have not offered a timeline prior to Friday’s events, Jenkins previously told The Associated Press that the attack appeared premeditated.
“This was not something that he did at the spur of the moment,” she told the AP on Monday.
The court filing said DePape smashed his shoulder through a glass window early Friday in the back of the Pelosis’ Pacific Heights home and confronted a sleeping Paul Pelosi, clad only in boxer shorts and a pajama top.
“Are you Paul Pelosi?” DePape said, standing over him around 2 a.m. holding a hammer and zip ties. “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?”
A groggy Pelosi told DePape that his wife was not home and would be gone for several days. DePape then allegedly threatened to tie Paul Pelosi up — the first of 10 such threats, the filing says.
Paul Pelosi was eventually able to call 911 from the home’s bathroom, where his cellphone was charging. While speaking to the dispatcher, DePape was gesturing and telling Pelosi to hang up, the filing said.
Pelosi then told the dispatcher that he did not need police, fire or medical assistance but he instead asked “for the Capitol Police because they are usually at the house protecting his wife.”
Moments later the dispatcher heard him interacting with a man and Paul Pelosi said “Uh, he thinks everything’s good. Uh, I’ve got a problem, but he thinks everything’s good.”
Two officers who raced to the home witnessed DePape hit Pelosi with the hammer at least once, striking him in the head, the filing states. Jenkins has said the assault was captured on the officers’ body cameras.
Speaker Pelosi was in Washington at the time and under the protection of her security detail, which does not extend to family members. She quickly returned to San Francisco, where her husband was hospitalized and underwent surgery for a skull fracture and other injuries.
In Washington, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger provided a sobering update Tuesday of security protocols for members of Congress.
Manger said that although many improvements have been made since the Capitol attack, including the hiring of nearly 280 officers by the end of this year, “there is still a lot of work to do.”
“We believe today’s political climate calls for more resources to provide additional layers of physical security for members of Congress,” he said.
Manger said the attack on Pelosi’s husband was “an alarming reminder of the dangerous threats elected officials and public figures face during today’s contentious political climate.”
___
Dazio reported from Los Angeles.
___
Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Michael Balsamo in Washington, DC also contributed to this report.
7 thoughts on “Officials: Suspect in Pelosi attack was on ‘suicide mission’ – Associated Press”
AP spins left, AP spins left, AP spins left, AP is spinning in faster & faster leftward circles and they’re so disoriented they don’t have a clue what to do when the Nov 8 freight train arrives at full speed.
This article is typical AP Radical Left Spin. Pay no attention to it. Instead, pay attention to the facts on the ground. In a single word, what we’re seeing here is a typical Radical Left COVERUP. Think of all the unanswered questions:
Why didn’t the highly paid, taxpayer-funded CAPITOL POLICE see the drama unfold with their high-tech, super sophisticated security camera system and take preventive steps? Were they too busy plotting the next FAKE INSURRECTION? And if I’m not mistaken, the ultimate boss of the Capitol Police is, wait for it…..NANCY PELOSI HERSELF! What a clown show!
Why no alarm?
Why no security guard? Nancy Pelosi has stolen tens of millions of dollars from the US Taxpayer, she can easily afford security guards, as long as she keeps them away from her incredibly well-stocked gazillion dollar ice cream fridges.
Why was Paul Pelosi injured AFTER THE POLICE ARRIVED? WTF?
Why did Paul Pelosi first say he didn’t know the guy, then he said the guy was his “friend” and even gave his name, David, which turns out to be his correct name.
Why are the SF Police and the SF DA basically hiding any and all information about this incident from the public? What are they hiding? Will this be another “we’ll discuss it in the back room, distort it to our Radical Left agenda, and release carefully-crafted statements designed to hide the truth from the public and spin it so we can attack Donald Trump” Are they doing this to attack the one man that puts the fear of God into all Radical Left clowns because IT IS PROVEN BEFORE OUR VERY EYES THAT HE GETS IMPORTANT THINGS DONE AND THAT HE SERVES THE US CITIZENRY?”
But most of all, why are all the Radical Left Sky Screamers saying that when a Radical Left drug addicted, illegal alien living in a known drug house in Berkeley CA with every Radical Left Badge of Honor strewn about that it is somehow the fault of Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans? What absolute filth. We need to vote all Democrats, especially The Space Clown, out of office and make sure they end up flipping burgers. Enough! Here’s what to do:
VOTE IN PERSON ON NOV 8th.
VOTE THE REPUBLICAN GOLDEN TICKET (yavgop.org)
NEVER VOTE AGAIN FOR ANY DEMOCRAT, THEY HAD THEIR CHANCE TO SERVE AND INSTEAD THEY TRIED TO TURN THE USA INTO A DICTATORSHIP. Unforgivable disgusting filth!
VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 209, 211, 308 and 310. All, except Prop 310 are a RADICAL LEFT MONEY AND/OR POWER GRAB
FACT: Arizona Prop 209 is mostly funded by California Unions!! Let’s call this the “California Trying to Stuff a Radical Left Agenda Down the Throats of Arizonians Act”.
FACT: Prop 211 is an attempt by the Radical Left to find out who is funding their opponents. “Let’s call this the “Once We Know Who Gives Constitutional Conservatives Money, We Can Destroy Them Act”.
FACT: Prop 308 effectively steals taxpayer money and uses it to buy support and future votes from illegal aliens. Let’s call this the “The Illegal Alien Goes to School and the Honest Working Guy Pays for IT” Act.
FACT: Prop 310 is a tax on fire services that are already funded by taxes. Let’s call this the “We Don’t Need No Stinking New Taxes Act”.
Ryan, You wrote “the ultimate boss of the Capitol Police is, wait for it…..NANCY PELOSI”, FYI the speaker of the house (whoever is in the post) has no role in running the Capitol Police force. The force operates under the Capitol Police Board, which does not include Nancy Pelosi as a member.
Remember the Capitol houses the House and Senate, both parties send representatives to oversee the operations, those reps do not include party leadership. Stupidity is inherited, but ignorance is earned…
Here we go again with another lame “You said….” post by Deputy Dawg, self-proclaimed Comments Policeman and Knower-of-All-Things. All hail Deputy Dawg!!!
FACT: the Radical Left clowns at Wikipedia have allowed the following statement to persist on their website page about the January 6th peaceful protest at the US Capitol (you know, the one where an unarmed woman named Ashli Babbitt was shot dead by a US Capitol Police Officer):
“At the behest of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund announced his resignation the following day, effective January 16, 2021.”
Looks like your Radical Left buddies at Wikipedia disagree with you, Dep. Sounds to me like Nancy “Taxpayer Money Thief” Pelosi is the ultimate boss just like I said. Game over, man.
MAGA! Vote for Constitutional Conservatives only!!
——————–Crickets———————-
Regarding the “incident” at the Pelosi Pacific Heights San Francisco home, we will never probably know what really happened. A corrupt San Francisco, a corrupt California, a corrupt FBI and Capitol Police; how can we possibly know what happened?
So; who really cares? Clearly Paul Pelosi was injured apparently in the presence of SFPD. The MSM is only interested in portraying the incident as caused by political forces opposed to the progress of Nancy Pelosi and the Biden administration.
God fearing good people of America will overcome the lies and anti constitutional acts of the Biden administration and take back the congress of the USA next Tuesday.
Then, a calculated plan will stop much of the Biden-Obama sacking of our county will begin. Threats from the usual suspects will increase but a new congress will begin the march to slow and stop the destruction of America and bring impeachment to a select group of despicable public officials. Make America Great Again!
Mr. Steele, Unless you have some evidence that supports your theory of corruption on the part of everybody, maybe it would be prudent to accept the facts as we know them and wait for more facts to come out. The article was about attempted murder, not whose political ox was being gored. I hope Mr. Pelosi makes a full recovery (although at 82 the odds are against it), and I hope Mr. Depape gets the mental help he so badly needs, and spends a good long while in prison. I am A political, I support no political party, it helps greatly in looking at news and discerning what is real and what is not, you might consider that sometime.
Meanwhile, it is an absolute joy to see the Radical Left Democrats flailing away trying to do something about their impending doom. They pulled Barack “NWO Activist” Obama out from the gazillion dollar mansions he bought with stolen taxpayer money (i.e. the kickback book deal”) and all he’s done is make a fool of himself. Hillary Clinton is back on the scene with her usual condescending filth. What’s next, a hologram of FDR?
Some Radical Left clown even asked Joe “Election Thief” Biden to use the US Emergency Alert System to remind voters to vote in the midterms because “democracy is threatened by the GOP”. That absolutely stupid idea gets today’s Emmett Kelly award as CLOWN OF THE DAY.
Comments are closed.