According to court filings released on Tuesday, the man accused of viciously beating House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., informed police officers at the scene that he was on “a suicide mission” and had other targets.
The new information was released shortly after California authorities accused David DePape, 42, in connection with Friday’s assault on Paul Pelosi with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, domestic burglary, false detention, and threatening a public official.
DePape entered a not guilty plea to all counts when he appeared in state court on Tuesday.
Prosecutors submitted a detention memo after DePape entered his plea, which revealed remarks DePape is believed to have made to authorities and medical personnel on Friday.
I’m tired of the outrageous degree of lies coming out of Washington, D.C. According to the affidavit, DePape claimed he informed Paul Pelosi, “I came over to have a quick chat with his wife.”
I genuinely didn’t want to injure him, but this was a suicide mission, you know. Even if it means risking my life, I’m not going to sit here and do nothing, the statement continues.
When asked if he had any other intentions besides the assault on Pelosi’s home, DePape mentioned a number of ‘prominent’ local professors, state and federal leaders, and their relatives. Nobody was given their names.
DePape, who was charged in San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon, faces a sentence of 13 years to life in jail. DePape had his arm in a sling and was dressed in an orange jumpsuit for the duration of the 15-minute hearing. DePape’s shoulder was dislocated when police arrested him on Friday, according to his public lawyer, Adam Lipson, who informed reporters after the incident. As part of the defense, Lipson stated he would look into DePape’s “susceptibility to misinformation.”
DePape will continue to be detained in the county jail and will show up in court once more on Friday to discuss his bail.
In connection with the incident, he is also accused of attempted kidnapping and assault with the purpose of retaliating against a federal official by endangering a family member. The maximum sentence for those accusations, which the Justice Department revealed on Monday, is 50 years in jail.
The House speaker was in Washington, D.C. at the time, but DePape deliberately picked the Pelosis’ house to confront her, according to San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. Jenkins said the attack seemed to be “politically motivated” based on words and remarks DePape is believed to have made in the house during the interaction with Paul Pelosi.
Investigators assert that after police arrived at the residence early on Friday, DePape struck Pelosi with a hammer. Pelosi, 82, underwent surgery on Friday to treat a fractured skull and severe wounds to his hands and right arm.
Federal authorities claim that when DePape stormed into the San Francisco home, he intended to kidnap the House speaker. Zip ties, according to the police, were found in Pelosi’s bedroom and in the corridor outside the house’s front door. A roll of tape, white rope, a hammer, a pair of rubber and fabric gloves, and a journal were also discovered in DePape’s backpack, according to their report.
On the day of the attack, DePape is said to have informed police during an interview that he planned to “take Nancy hostage and talk to her.”
Investigators claimed in the federal complaint that if Nancy told DePape the “truth,” he would release her, and if she “lied,” he would shatter “her kneecaps.”
Additionally, the suspect is accused of telling detectives that “breaking Nancy’s kneecaps would then require her to be wheeled into Congress, which would demonstrate other members of Congress there were repercussions to actions.”
‘Making steady progress on what will be a protracted healing process,’ Pelosi said in a statement late Monday.
