WASHINGTON – State and federal authorities announced criminal charges against the suspect on Friday brutal attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, D-Calif.which would have included plans to break the kneecaps of lawmakers.
Federal indicted prosecutors the alleged assailant, David DePape, 42, with attempted kidnapping and assault with intent to exact revenge on a federal official by threatening or harming a family member.
Hours later, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced state charges including attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, forgery imprisonment of an elder and threats against an official and his family.
The federal complaint alleged that DePape was attempting to kidnap the Speaker of the House when he broke into her San Francisco residence, unaware that she was in Washington, D.C., and only her husband, Paul Pelosi, 82 years old, was at home.
“Pelosi was sleeping when DePape walked into Pelosi’s room and said he wanted to talk to ‘Nancy’. When Pelosi told him Nancy wasn’t there, DePape said he was going to sit down and wait. “, said the complaint, while adding that Paul Pelosi had called the authorities from the bathroom.
Police said they recovered zip ties from Pelosi’s bedroom and the hallway near the front door of the house. In DePape’s backpack, they said they also found “among other things, a roll of duct tape, a white rope, a hammer, a pair of rubber and cloth gloves, and a newspaper.”
During a police interview on the day of the attack, DePape reportedly said, “He was going to take Nancy hostage and talk to her.”
“If Nancy were to tell DePape the ‘truth,’ he would let her go, and if she ‘lied,’ he was going to break her ‘kneecaps,'” investigators said in the federal complaint.
The suspect also allegedly told investigators that “by breaking Nancy’s kneecaps, she would then have to be transported to Congress, which would show other members of Congress that actions had consequences.”
The federal complaint went on to say that DePape told police “he wanted to use Nancy to lure another person” to him, but the complaint did not identify that person.
Jenkins said Monday that the state blames Pope were based on facts contained in the federal affidavit and other information that will be detailed in a motion Tuesday to hold him without bond. His appearance is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
At a press conference announcing the charges Monday night, Jenkins said the attack appeared to be politically motivated.
“It appears that it was – based on his statements and comments that were made in that house when he met Mr. Pelosi – that it was politically motivated,” Jenkins said.
On Saturday, law enforcement determined that DePape had been living for two years in the garage of a residence in Richmond, Calif., just outside San Francisco. In the garage, “among other things, officers seized two hammers, a sword and a pair of rubber and cloth gloves,” according to the complaint.
The FBI is working with San Francisco Police and Capitol Police on the investigation into Friday’s attack on Paul Pelosi.
Paul Pelosi remained in the intensive care unit surrounded by family members, a source with knowledge of the situation told NBC News on Monday. The FBI, San Francisco police, Capitol police and the district attorney obtained his testimony on Sunday, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. The source said he was awake and had full cognitive functioning and seemed to remember everything – he told them his version of events.
On Friday, he “underwent successful surgery to repair a fractured skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” Pelosi’s office said. His doctors expect him to make a full recovery.
Two sources briefed on the investigation said the suspect was looking for the Speaker of the House, who was in Washington, DC, at the time of the attack. Before the assault happened, the intruder confronted Paul Pelosi, shouting, “Where’s Nancy, where’s Nancy?”
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said officers arrived at Pelosi’s home just before 2:30 a.m. PT and observed “Mr. Pelosi and the suspect both holding a hammer.” The suspect snatched Mr. Pelosi’s gavel and violently assaulted him with it.”
Police approached the suspect, disarmed him and took him into custody, Scott said. San Fransisco Police said on Sunday zip ties were found at the scene.
According to a member of the Pelosi family, the suspect brought the hammer and smashed the windows of the Pelosi home facing the backyard. The family member said that once inside the suspect was trying to tie up Paul Pelosi and said they would wait ‘until Nancy gets home’. When the suspect wasn’t looking, Paul called 911. The family member said Paul was home alone and had been hit in the head with the hammer multiple times. When the police arrived, the suspect said, “We are waiting for Nancy.
The suspect appears to have operated a website on which he has written a wide variety of articles touching on almost every way of thinking about modern conspiracy: aliens, the Jewish people, communism, vaccines, voter fraud and many other topics. Two law enforcement officials said a first look at DePape’s online footprint showed recent blog posts that espoused ideas commonly associated with far-right extremism as well as anti-liberal ideas. -establishment.
