Nancy Pelosi's Husband's Suspected Attacker Claims He Had 'No Intention of Harming Him,' Got Caught Up in 'Conspiracies'
The man who allegedly attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband last year claimed that he was “caught up in conspiracy theories” at the time of the attack.
Nov. 10 2023, Published 12:45 p.m. ET
The man who allegedly attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband last year claimed that he was “caught up in conspiracy theories” about wealthy elites when he broke into the then-House Speaker’s home, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The shocking development comes just more than one year after David DePape allegedly broke into Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and attacked her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer on October 28.
David DePape allegedly broke into Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and attacked her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer on October 28.
DePape’s federal trial in connection to the break-in and subsequent attack against Paul kicked off on Thursday.
The 43-year-old suspect faces charges of 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 the performance of their duties.
But while the suspect’s defense attorney – Jodi Linker – admitted that DePape did break into the Pelosi home and did attack the then-House Speaker’s husband, she argued that her client’s beliefs and actions were “wholly unrelated to Nancy Pelosi's official duties” as House Speaker.
“This case here is about the why — the why matters,” DePape’s attorney told the jury on Thursday, according to Daily Mail. “This case is about whether David acted because of, on account of, Nancy Pelosi’s duties as a member of Congress.”
DePape’s federal trial in connection to the break-in and subsequent attack against Paul kicked off on Thursday.
“He didn’t, she continued. “And he only struck Paul Pelosi in a quick moment of despair because the police arrived and his larger plan was thwarted.”
Linker also argued that DePape initially had “no intention of harming” Nancy Pelosi’s 83-year-old husband and that her client broke into the home “not to try and stop Nancy Pelosi from doing her job” but because he was “caught up in conspiracy theories” about wealthy elites like the Pelosi couple.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutor Laura Vartain Horn argued in her opening statements that the evidence against DePape would prove that he planned to “kidnap” then-House Speaker Pelosi when he broke into the Pelosi home through a back door in October 2022.
“The evidence in this case is going show that when the defendant used this hammer to break into the Pelosi's home, he intended to kidnap Nancy Pelosi,” Vartain Horn said.
"He only struck Paul Pelosi in a quick moment of despair because the police arrived and his larger plan was thwarted.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, DePape allegedly broke into Nancy and Paul Pelosi’s San Francisco home in the early hours of October 28, 2022.
The suspect reportedly bludgeoned Paul Pelosi, then 82 years old, with a hammer before demanding to see the then-House Speaker. Nancy Pelosi was not home at the time.
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DePape admitted to breaking into the Pelosi home and attacking Paul in bodycam footage presented during his federal trial this week.
“There is no denying what I did,” he said after the attack. “Cops watched me do it.”
Paul Pelosi is scheduled to testify in his suspected assailant’s federal trial next week.
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Paul Pelosi is scheduled to testify in his suspected assailant’s federal trial next week.
DePape pleaded not guilty to the federal charges against him He also pleaded not guilty to state charges of assault and attempted murder. A date for DePape’s state trial will reportedly be set during a pretrial hearing on November 29.
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