David DePape: Paul Pelosi suspected of trying to kidnap the speaker of the House

CNN
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The man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, has been charged with assault and attempted kidnapping following last week’s break-in at the couple’s home in San Francisco, the US attorney’s office announced Monday.

David DePape, 42, was charged with an “attempted kidnapping of a United States official,” according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of California. That charge relates to Nancy Pelosi, who DePape told police he planned to “hold hostage,” according to an FBI affidavit also released Monday.

The attempted kidnapping charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

CNN reported that DePape allegedly yelled “Where’s Nancy at?” after entering his house.

DePape was also charged with one count of assaulting a member of the immediate family of a United States official with intent to retaliate against the official. The indictment relates to a crime allegedly committed against Paul Pelosi and carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

The federal charges against DePape are in addition to state charges that may also be announced Monday.

CNN reported earlier Monday that Paul Pelosi was interviewed this weekend at the hospital by investigators and was able to provide details of the attack, according to two law enforcement sources and a source familiar with the matter.

Among those who conducted the interviews were FBI and local law enforcement investigators.

Court filings related to the federal charges against DePape reveal the most detailed account of Paul Pelosi’s 911 call as the incident unfolded.

“Pelosi said the words that say there is a man in the house and that the man is going to wait for Pelosi’s wife. Pelosi also said that he does not know who the man is. The man said qu’il was named David,” an FBI agent said in an affidavit that was unsealed Monday.

Paul Pelosi called 911 at 2:23 a.m. Pacific Time on Friday, and police arrived at his home eight minutes later, according to the affidavit unsealed Monday.

“When the door was opened, Pelosi and DePape were both holding a hammer with one hand and DePape had the other hand holding onto Pelosi’s forearm,” the affidavit said. “Pelosi greeted the officers. The officers asked him what was going on. DePape replied that everything was fine. The officers asked Pelosi and DePape to drop the gavel.

At that moment, DePape allegedly pulled out the hammer and struck him, hitting Paul Pelosi in the head. Pelosi “appeared unconscious on the ground” after the hit, the affidavit said.

Paul Pelosi was later taken to the hospital and underwent “successful surgery to repair a fractured skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” according to an earlier press release from the president’s office House Nancy Pelosi. They said they expected Paul Pelosi to make a full recovery.

CNN already reported this Pelosi was able to keep the line open with 911the dispatcher could hear a conversation in the background, and that Pelosi was speaking in code to help authorities understand what was going on.

“DePape was willing to arrest and injure Speaker Pelosi when he entered Pelosi’s residence on the morning of October 28, 2022,” the FBI agent said in the affidavit. “DePape had ties, tape, rope, and at least one hammer with him that morning.”

DePape has yet to make any court appearances related to the attack.

According to the criminal complaint filed in court, DePape confessed in an interview with local police that he intended to find the speaker of the House and hold him hostage.

The FBI affidavit filed with the complaint said: “DePape stated that he was going to hold Nancy hostage and talk to her. If Nancy told DePape the ‘truth,’ he would let her go, and if she ‘lied “, he will break “the rolls”.

“DePape was certain that Nancy was not telling the ‘truth,'” the FBI affidavit said.

The affidavit also said that DePape told police that Nancy Pelosi was the “leader of the pack” of lies promoted by the Democratic Party. DePape told police that other members of Congress would see there were consequences to their actions when Pelosi, with broken kneecaps, was “wheeled” into the House chamber, according to the affidavit.

The interview was conducted by the San Francisco Police Department on Friday, the day of the attack, according to court filings. DePape was read his Miranda rights before he spoke with police and confessed his intention to kidnap the House Democrat, according to the filings.

The federal indictments unsealed Monday further fueled a conspiracy theory about the Pelosi attack that had been circulating on Twitter. by its billionaire owner Elon Musk.

The conspiracy theory claimed, among other things, that Paul Pelosi knew his attacker. Musk tweeted a link to an article promoting the theory on Sunday, though he later removed it.

The FBI affidavit, unsealed Monday alongside the federal charges, says Pelosi told a 911 dispatcher during her call that she “doesn’t know who the man is” who invaded her home.

Additionally, the affidavit said San Francisco Police Department officers interviewed Pelosi in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, and she said, “I had never seen (David) DePape before.”

Earlier Monday, San Francisco Police Department Chief William Scott told CNN’s Ana Cabrera that Paul Pelosi did not know the suspect. The police chief said the wave of conspiracies about the case was “baseless” and “harmful” to the ongoing investigation.

This story has been updated with additional developments.