The husband of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recalls waking up in a pool of blood after a hammer attack by a intruder allegedly trying to “take out” his wife, he told a court.
Paul Pelosi, 83, suffered a fractured skull when he was brutally attacked in his own home in San Francisco last October by David DePape.
The assault was captured on police bodyworn camera, after Mr Pelosi had surruptiously called 911 and spoken in code to the operator in a bid to avoid aggravating the intruder, a trial has heard.
Giving evidence, Mr Pelosi spoke for the first time publicly about the incident, saying he has “made the best effort I possibly can to not relive this” in the last year as it is “so traumatic for my family”.
“It was a tremendous shock, looking at him, looking at the hammer and the ties”, said Mr Pelosi, of the moment he encountered DePape in his bedroom. “I recognised I was in serious danger. I tried to stay as calm as possible.”
The court has heard how DePape, 43, lived a solitary life and consumed online conspiracy theories including one about a controlling Democratic elite.
When he was arrested, it is said DePape told officers he was on a mission to kidnap Ms Pelosi and possibly break her kneecaps. At the time, Mrs Pelosi was a senior Democrat and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
DePape is also said to have drawn up a list of targets, including Tom Hanks, billionaire businessman George Soros, and President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.
He burst into Mr Pelosi’s bedroom in the early hours of October 28 last year and asked “where’s Nancy?”, Mr Pelosi told the jury.
“The door opened and a very large man came in with a hammer in one hand and some ties in the other.”
He said DePape declared about his wife: “She was the leader of the pack, he had to take her out, he was going to wait for her.”
“He was going to tie me up and wait for her.”
Mr Pelosi, a venture capitalist and real estate investor, managed to alert police with a 911 call from the bathroom, and he opened the door to officers while DePape stood next to him.
The bodyworn footage shows DePape – after a short exchange on the doorstep – abruptly swing the hammer at Mr Pelosi before officers rushed in and bundled him to the ground.
Asked what he recalled of the attack, Mr Pelosi replied: “Waking up in a pool of blood.”
He told the court: “I have not discussed this incident with anybody. And I have encouraged my family not to either.
“I have tried to put it out of my mind.”
DePape, who lived in a garage in the Richmond district of San Francisco, is accused of attempted kidnapping and assault on a federal official’s family member. He denies the charges.
Mr Pelosi spent six days in hospital after the attack, for treatment to a fractured skull and injuries to his arm and hand.
DePape’s defence team have accepted the facts of the incident, and said that while he believed conspiracy theories with “every ounce of his being” he had not been motivated to act by Mrs Pelosi’s political status.
They are set to argue that the federal charges should not have been brought against DePape.
The trial continues.
