SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 31 (Reuters) – The man accused of beating the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer after forcing his way into the couple’s home has threatening to take her hostage and break her kneecaps if she lied under questioning, according to a federal criminal complaint filed Monday.
David Wayne DePape’s alleged intentions emerged as federal prosecutors charged the 42-year-old suspect with assault and attempted kidnapping in Friday’s pre-dawn attack at the Pelosi home in San Francisco.
Several state charges were filed separately in San Francisco Superior Court, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, elder abuse and threatening a public servant, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced in a press conference
The 82-year-old Speaker of the US House of Representatives, a Democrat second in line to the US presidency, was in Washington at the time of the assault. Her husband, Paul Pelosi, 82, a real estate and venture capital executive, has been hospitalized while recovering from skull fractures and injuries to his hands and right arm.
Doctors expect a full recovery, the speaker’s office said.
The incident, which Jenkins called “politically motivated,” has fueled fears of extreme partisan violence ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections that will decide control of Congress in one of America’s most vitriolic campaigns and polarized in decades.
As one of Washington’s most senior Democrats and a longtime representative of one of America’s most liberal cities, Nancy Pelosi has been a frequent lightning rod for expressions of conservative criticism and disdain.
Her office was ransacked during the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by a mob of supporters of then-Republican President Donald Trump, some of whom hunted her down during the melee.
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DePape was arrested by police officers sent to the speaker’s home after her spouse made an emergency 911 call reporting an intruder, according to an FBI affidavit filed as part of the complaint federal criminal
[1/3] A general view of the home of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, where her husband Paul Pelosi was violently assaulted after a break-in, according to a statement from her office in San Francisco. California, USA, on October 28, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The San Francisco Police Department recovered zip ties in the bedroom and in the hallway near the front door. Police also found a roll of tape, rope, a hammer, a pair of gloves and a newspaper in DePape’s backpack, according to the affidavit.
Paul Pelosi, who was initially knocked unconscious by the attack, later told police he was asleep when a stranger, armed with a hammer, entered his bedroom and woke him up, demanding to speak to his spouse, according to the complaint.
According to Paul Pelosi’s account in the affidavit, he told the intruder that his wife would be away for several days, and the intruder replied that he would stay and wait for her. Pelosi’s husband said he managed to escape to the bathroom to call 911, according to the affidavit.
The suspect told police in an interview after his arrest that he planned to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage for questioning and that if she told the “truth” he would let her go, but if she “lied” he would break her kneecaps, according to the FBI affidavit.
He told police he didn’t run from Pelosi’s house after Paul Pelosi’s 911 call because, according to the affidavit, “like the American founding fathers with the British, I was fighting tyranny without the option to surrender”.
Authorities said police officers who arrived at Pelosi’s home saw DePape and Pelosi fighting over a hammer. As officers yelled at both men to drop the tool, DePape pulled out the hammer and struck Pelosi before officers subdued DePape and took him into custody.
DePape was charged in federal court with one count of assault on a family member of a US official and one count of attempted kidnapping of a US official. Prosecutors alleged that the crimes stemmed from the suspect’s intent to retaliate against the Speaker of the House for her “performance of official duties.”
The federal charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 50 years in prison, the Justice Department said in a statement announcing the charges. The state charges are punishable by 13 years to life in prison, Jenkins said.
Online messages recently posted on various websites by an Internet user named “daviddepape” expressed bigoted sentiments against minorities, Jews, women, and transgender people while embracing the right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory.
Older online posts touted quartz crystals and hemp bracelets. Reuters could not confirm that the posts were created by the suspect charged on Monday.
Experts on extremist ideology said Friday’s attack appeared to be an example of a growing trend they call “stochastic terrorism,” in which sometimes unstable people are inspired to violence by hate speech and scenarios they see. online and hear from public figures. Read more
Reporting by Paresh Dave in San Francisco and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington, Brendan O’Brien in Chicago and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Howard Goller and Rosalba O’Brien
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Paresh Dave
Thomson Reuters
Technology reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area covering Google and the rest of Alphabet Inc. He joined Reuters in 2017 after four years at the Los Angeles Times focusing on the local technology industry.