Pelosi attacker planned to wear unicorn costume and post interrogation online
David DePape, the man accused of attacking the husband of Nancy Pelosi with a hammer last year, told a federal jury how his fringe political beliefs brought him to the Pelosis’ home to interrogate the former house speaker.
In emotional testimony that lasted for more than an hour, DePape offered detailed insight into his motivations that evening in October, which he described as part of a bigger plan to end corruption in the United States.
He wanted to speak to Pelosi about Russian involvement in the 2016 election, he said, and planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and upload his interrogation of her online. Instead, in the early hours of 28 October 2022, he found 82-year-old Paul Pelosi and bludgeoned him, prosecutors say.
DePape has pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official with intent to retaliate against the official for performance of their duties. Prosecutors say he was carrying rope and zip ties during the attack, which took place days before the US midterms.
He did not deny attacking Paul Pelosi while testifying on Tuesday. His attorneys argue the charges do not fit because they say he was not seeking to go after Nancy Pelosi because of her official duties as a member of Congress.
In his testimony on Tuesday, DePape was often emotional and cried when asked how he went from having leftist political beliefs to being more rightwing, saying it happened after he read a comment on a YouTube video about Donald Trump. He also described how he believed in several discredited conspiracy theories, including baseless claims that the US government is run by a group of devil-worshipping pedophiles.
DePape testified that he felt bad for Paul Pelosi after hearing testimony from a neurosurgeon who operated on him after the attack.
“He was never my target and I’m sorry that he got hurt,” he said.
He hit Paul Pelosi because his plan was ruined, he said.
Jodi Linker, DePape’s defense attorney, told jurors last week that DePape sincerely believed he was trying to stop government corruption and the abuse of children by politicians and actors.
DePape testified that his plan was to get Nancy Pelosi and other targets – which included Gavin Newsom, the actor Tom Hanks and Joe Biden’s son Hunter – to admit to their corruption and eventually get the president to pardon them all.
“It’s just easier giving them a pardon so we can move forward as a country,” he said, crying.
On Monday, Paul Pelosi testified before the jury, the first time he has recounted the attack publicly. He said he had not discussed the attack with anyone “because it has been too traumatic”.
“It was a tremendous sense of shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house, and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible,” he told jurors.
He testified he was awakened by a man bursting into the bedroom door asking: “Where’s Nancy?” He responded that his wife was in Washington and DePape said he would tie him up while they waited for her, Pelosi said.
“We had some conversation with him saying she was the leader of the pack, he had to take her out, and that he was going to wait for her,” he said.
He testified that he was eventually able to call police from his cellphone and that DePape hit him with a hammer when officers arrived.
Earlier, prosecutors played police body-camera footage showing Pelosi facedown on the floor as paramedics help him. Pelosi’s face and hands are covered in blood. He later underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and injuries to his right arm and hands.
If convicted, DePape faces life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty to charges in state court of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies.
In the years leading up to the attack, DePape had been unhoused and struggling with drug abuse and mental illness, his ex-girlfriend has told local media. He had most recently been living in a garage in a Bay Area city while taking carpentry jobs to support himself.
He has a history of pushing far-right conspiracy theories, as well as posting rants online about aliens, communists, religious minorities and global elites.
The 43-year-old allegedly told a San Francisco detective after his arrest that he wanted to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage. He said that if she told him the truth, he would let her go, and if she lied, he was going to “break her kneecaps” to show other members of Congress there were “consequences to actions”, according to prosecutors.