The man accused of plotting to take House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and break her kneecaps appeared briefly in a San Francisco courtroom Tuesday afternoon on charges of attempted murder and other crimes.
David DePape, 42, pleaded not guilty to a host of charges in connection with an attack on Paul Pelosi at the couple’s Pacific Heights home on Friday. He was transferred to the county jail system from a hospital Tuesday before his court appearance. His arm was supported by a sling during his court appearance.
Adam Lipson, a veteran deputy public defender, said DePape suffered a dislocated shoulder during his arrest at the Pelosis’ home and he has yet to see the police reports.
“We are going to look into Mr. DePape’s mental state,” said Lipson, who added that he has not examined the prosecution’s motion to deny bail and said it was moot as there is also a federal hold on him.
Besides attempted murder, DePape has also been charged with residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder and threats to a public official and their family. He faces 13 years to life in prison if convicted of all local charges. He also faces federal assault and kidnapping charges.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said Monday that prosecutors want to keep DePape in jail because he poses “obvious and severe public safety risks.”
A hearing on his bail was delayed until a later date.
According to a federal affidavit filed Monday, DePape was carrying a backpack containing zip ties, a rope and a hammer when he smashed his way through the glass patio door of the Pelosis’ home. He awakened Paul Pelosi, who was home alone at the time, and demanded, “Where’s Nancy?” The 82-year-old executive was able to surreptitiously call 911 to alert police to the intruder.
When officers arrived, court papers show, DePape and Pelosi were wrestling with a hammer. When DePape gained the upper hand, he attacked Pelosi with the tool, fracturing his skull, prosecutors said.
DePape later revealed to San Francisco police that he planned to kidnap Nancy Pelosi and break her kneecaps, calling her the “leader of the pack” of lies told by the Democratic Party, authorities said.
In the course of his police interview, DePape told investigators “that by breaking Nancy’s kneecaps, she would then have to be wheeled into Congress, which would show other members of Congress there were consequences to actions.” DePape also told police he wanted to use Pelosi to lure another individual to the couple’s San Francisco home, court documents show. That individual was not named.
Paul Pelosi is recovering from surgery at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital “to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands. In a statement, his wife’s office said he was improving but faced a “long recovery process.”
“I want to say that I’m pleased to hear that Mr. Pelosi is progressing well in his recovery, and we certainly wish him the best,” Lipson said Tuesday, noting that his office will be conducting “a comprehensive investigation of what happened.”
The federal complaint against DePape debunks conspiracy theories that have spread on the internet, fueling rhetoric in right-wing circles and casting doubt on some of the facts of the attack. The conspiracy theories have gone from fringe to the mainstream, with members of Congress sharing them.
In the complaint, DePape is charged with one count of assault of an immediate family member of a U.S. official, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. DePape also was charged with one count of attempted kidnapping of a federal official, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Jenkins said Monday that, based on DePape’s statements and comments to Paul Pelosi, the attack “was politically motivated.” “It’s very sad to see that we are once again at the point in history where people believe that it’s OK to express their political sentiments through violence,” Jenkins said. “It demonstrates that we have to calm things down. We have to decide that we’re going to be more respectful as an American society.”
“Mr. DePape specifically targeted the Pelosi home to confront Speaker Pelosi,” Jenkins said Monday in announcing the charges against him. “This house and the speaker herself were specific targets of the defendant.”
The attack stoked heightened concerns over politically connected violence. On Tuesday, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a statement: “We believe today’s political climate calls for more resources to provide additional layers of physical security for members of Congress.”
A Los Angeles Times review of his online accounts showed that DePape was involved in the world of far-right conspiracies, antisemitism and hate.
In a personal blog that DePape maintained, posts include such topics as “Manipulation of History,” “Holohoax” and “It’s OK to be white.” He mentioned 4chan, a favorite message board of the far right. He posted videos about conspiracies involving COVID-19 vaccines and the war in Ukraine being a ploy for Jewish people to buy land.
DePape’s screeds included posts about QAnon, an unfounded theory that former President Donald Trump is at war with a cabal of Satan-worshiping Democratic elites who run a child sex ring and control the world. In an Aug. 23 entry titled “Q,” DePape wrote: “Either Q is Trump himself or Q is the deep state moles within Trumps inner circle.”
Lipson, who said he first met DePape on Monday night, said his client’s “vulnerability to misinformation” will be examined as part of his defense.
———
(Times staff writer Alexandra E. Petri contributed to this report.)
