Pelosi attack suspect was ready to ‘break her kneecaps’
The man accused of bludgeoning US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer wanted to take her hostage and break her kneecaps if she lied, according to a federal criminal complaint filed on Monday.
David Wayne Depape’s alleged intentions emerged as federal prosecutors charged him with assault and attempted kidnapping in Friday’s predawn break-in at the Pelosis’ San Francisco home.
Several state charges were filed separately in San Francisco Superior Court, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, elder abuse and threatening a public official, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced. An arraignment was set for Tuesday.
Depape, 42, was arrested by San Francisco police after Paul Pelosi placed an emergency-911 call reporting an intruder.
They recovered zip ties in the bedroom and in the hallway near the front door. Police also found a roll of tape, rope, a second hammer, a pair of gloves and a journal in Depape’s backpack, an affidavit said. The intruder had broken in through a glass door to the residence.
Paul Pelosi, initially left unconscious from the attack, later told police that he was asleep when a stranger, armed with a hammer, crept into his secondfloor bedroom and awakened him, demanding to speak with his spouse, the complaint states.
According to Pelosi, he told the intruder his wife would be away for several days and the intruder responded that he would stay and wait for her. Pelosi’s husband recounted that he managed to slip away to the bathroom to place the 911 call.
The suspect told police he planned to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage for questioning, and that if she told the “truth” he would let her go but if she “lied” he would break her kneecaps, according to an FBI affidavit.
He told police he did not flee the Pelosi home after Paul Pelosi’s 911 call because, according to the affidavit, “much like the American founding fathers with the British, he was fighting against tyranny without the option to surrender.”
Authorities said police officers arriving at the Pelosi home saw Depape and Pelosi struggling over a hammer.
As the officers shouted at both men to drop the tool, Depape yanked the hammer away and struck Pelosi in the head before officers subdued Depape and took him into custody.
Depape was charged in federal court with one count of assault on a family member of a U.S. official and one count of attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official.