The seemingly mild-mannered carpenter accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in his San Francisco home earlier this year allegedly had plans to also target Hunter Biden, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and—bizarrely—actor Tom Hanks.
In a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, a police officer testified that David DePape, 42, appeared lucid as he explained in an interview with police that he wanted to travel to Los Angeles to confront the president’s son at his mansion, which is guarded by Secret Service agents.
When Adam Lipson, the public defender assigned to DePape’s case, asked the officer if DePape intended to kidnap Biden to discuss “all of the corruption” in Washington, D.C., she replied, “Yes,” according to KRON-TV.
Paul Pelosi was discharged from a San Francisco hospital six days after the hammer attack, which left him with a skull fracture and other injuries. DePape is accused of breaking into a rear entrance of the couple’s home in the early hours of Oct. 28, before confronting a sleeping Paul Pelosi in his bedroom, and demanding to know where his wife was. Pelosi told investigators that DePape had told him, “Everybody [in D.C.] is crazy and corrupt and we need to take them out,” a reporter in the courtroom tweeted Wednesday.
David DePape is accused of breaking into a rear entrance of the Pelosis’ home.
KGO TV via ABC via REUTERS
Prosecutors in the room also played audio from Pelosi’s 911 call, as well as a 15-second clip from the body camera of the first San Francisco police officer to arrive on the scene. In the call, Pelosi can be heard saying, “There’s a gentleman here waiting for my wife to come back, Nancy Pelosi. I don’t know who he is…”
A moment later, according to Fox News, another voice comes in on the call: “My name’s David.”
Those in the courtroom gallery could only hear the audio of the body-cam footage because the TV was facing towards Judge Stephen Murder, according to KRON-TV. However, it reportedly showed the officer opening the door, DePape striking Pelosi repeatedly with a hammer, then DePape being tackled and arrested.
An officer in the recording could be heard initially saying, “Good morning, what’s going on man?” to which DePape responded, “Everything’s good.”
The officer then said, “Drop the hammer!” before DePape said, “Uh nope” and a struggle ensued. An officer could be heard shouting, “Oh, shit!” and tackling the suspect.
DePape, decked out in an orange prison jumpsuit, was present for the San Francisco Superior Court hearing on Wednesday. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder, and threats to a public official and their family.
Murphy, who is weighing whether to move forward with a trial, is expected to reach a decision on the matter later in the day.
This is a developing story and will be updated.