San Francisco’s top prosecutor announced a slew of felony charges against Paul Pelosi attack suspect David DePape, a 42-year-old illegal immigrant from Canada accused of breaking into the House Speaker’s home and cracking her husband’s skull with a hammer.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said DePape broke through a rear glass door and snuck into a sleeping Paul Pelosi’s bedroom in the middle of the night during a Monday news briefing. There was no security present at the time, she said.
“The charges that we are filing today include attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder as well as threats to a public official and their family,” she said.
Earlier in the day, federal prosecutors revealed assault and attempted charges against DePape, which carry a combined total of 50 years in prison if convicted. Jenkins cited some of DePape’s statements in the federal affidavit as a basis for the state charges, which carry 13 years to life in prison.
PAUL PELOSI ATTACKER TOLD INVESTIGATORS HE PLANNED TO BREAK HOUSE SPEAKER’S ‘KNEECAPS’: AFFIDAVIT
(Left) Paul Pelosi and Nancy Pelosi attend the Pre-GRAMMY Gala. (Right) David DePape
(Michael Short/ San Francisco Chronicle )
Pelosi was wearing a “loose-fitting pajama shirt and boxer shorts,” Jenkins said. Pelosi attempted to use a phone in his home elevator but was blocked by DePape, she added, but he went to the bathroom and called 911 from there.
The federal affidavit alleges that DePape told investigators his plan was to “kneecap” Speaker Pelosi if her caught her lying.
Jenkins revealed during her news briefing that DePape arrived with at least two hammers and other kidnappings supplies, including zip ties. She said the attack appeared to have been politically motivated and that the Pelosi home was targeted. But she stopped short of characterizing the incident as “domestic terrorism.”
WATCH DA JENKINS’ FULL REMARKS:
She was in Washington, D.C., during the ordeal.
The San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi is seen after police say David Depape violently assaulted Paul Pelosi early Friday, Oct. 28, 2022.
(KGO-TV)
San Francisco police arrived at her home around 2:30 a.m. Friday and found DePape and her 82-year-old husband struggling over a hammer near the front door.
PELOSI ATTACK: WOMAN CLAIMING TO BE SUSPECT DAVID DEPAPE’S STEPDAUGHTER SAYS HE WAS ABUSIVE
Officers ordered them to drop the item, and DePape allegedly seized control of it and fractured Pelosi’s skull.
Police recovered zip ties in Pelosi’s bedroom, found glass broken at the rear of the house, tape, rope, gloves and a journal, according to the FBI affidavit.
Before Pelosi was taken to a hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery on a fractured skull, he told police from the ambulance that he had never seen DePape before and that the intruder showed up in his bedroom around 2:30 a.m. demanding to talk to “Nancy” – the House Speaker.
Paul Pelosi was allegedly attacked by a man looking for his wife, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
(Photo by Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images))
The lawmaker’s husband told DePape that his wife was out, and DePape allegedly decided to wait for her to return.
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“Pelosi stated that his wife would not be home for several days, and then DePape reiterated that he would wait,” according to the affidavit. Pelosi “was able to go into the bathroom” and call 911.
DePape also allegedly admitted to breaking into the home, using the hammer to shatter a glass door and surprising Paul Pelosi in his bedroom. He also allegedly confessed to cracking the 82-year-old’s skull.
An Immigrations and Customers Enforcement source told Fox News Monday that DePape is in the U.S. illegally after a “longtime” visa overstay.
However, DePape told San Francisco police that “much like the American founding fathers with the British, he was fighting against tyranny without the option of surrender,” according to the affidavit.
Jenkins said Monday she will seek to have DePape held without bail. He is due in court tomorrow for an arraignment.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
