Paul Pelosi Attack Suspect Appears in Court, Hearing Postponed Until Next Month

The home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in San Francisco on Oct. 28, 2022. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, appeared before a federal judge on Feb. 8 regarding charges connected to the October incident at the couple’s San Francisco home.

Prosecutors told Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley that they turned over 16,000 pages of discovery materials and will provide the defense with more materials, according to a local ABC7 reporter, Stephanie Sierra, who was in the courtroom. They also will hand over body camera footage, forensic information from an FBI investigation, and surveillance footage.

The status hearing for David DePape was postponed until March 15, according to a KNTV reporter.

DePape, who also faces state charges, was charged by federal prosecutors with the attempted kidnapping of a federal officer or employee and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. In his state case, the 43-year-old Canadian national faces attempted murder, first-degree residential burglary, elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, and threatening a family member of a public official.

He’s pleaded not guilty in both cases. If convicted, he faces decades in prison.

For the state charges, DePape’s next court date is scheduled for Feb. 23.

In late January, a judge released police bodycam footage of the alleged attack, showing DePape and Paul Pelosi struggling to gain control of a hammer. When an officer tells DePape to put it down, he then pulled it back and appeared to hit Pelosi, sending the 82-year-old man to the ground.

Because of the angle of the body camera, the actual attack isn’t shown. After the strike, officers then rush to grab DePape before placing handcuffs on him.

That day, the judge also ordered the release of U.S. Capitol Police surveillance footage that appears to show DePape peering into the Pelosi home in San Francisco before the alleged attack took place. He is then seen grabbing a hammer and smashing a window.

After the release of the footage, San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Adam Lipson, who represents DePape, said it was a “terrible mistake.”

“The footage is inflammatory and could feed unfounded theories about this case, and we are extremely concerned about Mr. DePape’s ability to get a fair trial,” Lipson said in a statement to news outlets.

The news agencies who sought the release of the footage includes The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Press Democrat, CNN, Fox News, CBS, ABC, NBC, and KQED, an NPR-member radio station in San Francisco.

David DePape in Berkeley, Calif., on Dec. 13, 2013. Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via AP

Around the same time, DePape phoned a local TV station, KTVU, and stated he wanted to commit more attacks. His reasoning was that individual liberties are under attack by Washington politicians.

“[The] people killing it [individual liberty] have names and addresses, so I got their names and addresses so I could pay them a little visit … have a heart-to-heart chat about their bad behavior,” he told KTVU in late January. “I want to apologize to everyone. I messed up. What I did was really bad. I’m so sorry I didn’t get more of them. It’s my own fault. No one else is to blame. I should have come better prepared.”

Family members of DePape previously said he suffers from mental illness. A former partner, Oxane “Gypsy” Taub, told The Epoch Times in November that he disappeared for months before coming back and claiming that he was Jesus, while his son has questioned whether he was motivated by right-wing political viewpoints.

Prosecutors say DePape broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home on Oct. 28 seeking to kidnap the former speaker—who was out of town—and instead beat her husband with a hammer.

In an interview with San Francisco Police Lt. Carla Hurley after he was taken into custody, DePape said he didn’t regret the attack, even though it wasn’t against Nancy Pelosi, his intended target.

DePape said the attack happened very quickly, and he recalled how it took the officers by surprise.

“I yank the hammer away from him, I jump into action,” he said. “They jump into action. They’re like on top of me instantly.”

On Feb, 7, as a special guest of First Lady Jill Biden, Paul Pelosi attended the State of the Union address, where he and his wife, Rep. Pelosi, received a standing ovation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.