Accused Paul Pelosi attacker not driven by politics: lawyer

SAN FRANCISCO — An attorney for the man accused of breaking into Nancy Pelosi’s house and striking her husband in the head with a hammer admitted Thursday that he committed a criminal assault but denied it was related to the former House speaker’s job.

In an opening statement at the federal assault and attempted kidnapping trial of David DePape, his attorney, Jodi Linker, conceded that it was “a horrible and shocking act of violence.’’

But the October 2022 assault on Paul Pelosi, then 82, was not in retaliation for his wife’s performance of her duties in Congress, she said. Rather, he was carrying out a ‘’bizarre, misguided plan’' to stop a corrupt ruling elite from lying and harming children, Linker told the jury.

“What matters is what brought David to that house — what David believed and what he intended,’’ she said. “This is not a whodunit.’’

Assistant US Attorney Laura Vartain Horn told jurors that the attack was indeed retribution for Nancy Pelosi’s work in Congress, saying DePape viewed the California Democrat as “evil, a liar, and leader of the pack’' of public figures he targeted.

“It was a violent plan — a plan to kidnap Nancy Pelosi to hold her hostage, to break her kneecaps, to teach her a lesson,’’ Vartain Horn said, showing the jurors the hammer in a clear plastic evidence bag.

Prosecutors showed jurors graphic photo and video evidence of the crime scene. A large pool of blood spread around Paul Pelosi’s head and stained his shirt as officers were tackling DePape.

A key element of both the assault and attempted kidnapping charges is that the alleged crimes were in retaliation for Nancy Pelosi’s work in the House. Opening statements made clear that the defense strategy will be to try to undercut that part of the prosecution’s case by showing that it was instead DePape’s belief in QAnonstyle disinformation that motivated him.