Paul Pelosi Attack Suspect Indicted by Federal Grand Jury: DOJ

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

The Canadian national who allegedly attacked the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer in the Pelosis’ home was indicted on Nov. 9 by a federal grand jury, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

David DePape, 42, was “charged with one count of assault upon an immediate family member of a U.S. official with the intent to retaliate against the official on account of the performance of official duties,” the DOJ said in a statement. “He is also charged with one count of attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official on account of the performance of official duties.”

Federal officials last week confirmed to The Epoch Times that DePape was in the United States illegally, having overstayed his visa after he initially entered the country in 2000. The DOJ statement didn’t mention DePape’s immigration status and referred to him as a “California man.”

If convicted, DePape faces up to 30 years in prison on the alleged assault count and 20 years in prison for the attempted kidnapping count. He also faces a number of state charges, including attempted murder, for which he has pleaded not guilty.

He remained held on Nov. 10 in the San Francisco County jail without bail ahead of a Dec. 14 preliminary hearing on the local charges, according to the Mercury News. No court date has been set for the federal charges.

The indictment stated that two police officers arrived at the Pelosis’ San Francisco home early on Oct. 28 to see DePape and Paul Pelosi struggling over a hammer. When officers told the two to drop it, DePape allegedly got control of the hammer and hit Pelosi in the head, fracturing his skull.

The officers, according to court papers, then restrained the suspect while Pelosi remained on the ground.

“As set forth in the indictment, once DePape was restrained, officers secured a roll of tape, white rope, a second hammer, a pair of rubber and cloth gloves, and zip ties from the crime scene, where officers also observed a broken glass door to the back porch,” the DOJ said in its statement.

A screen grab taken from video shows damage to the home of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after her husband Paul Pelosi was assaulted during a break-in at their house in San Francisco on Oct. 28, 2022. KGO TV via ABC via Reuters

The federal indictment states that DePape allegedly told officers that he wanted to break Nancy Pelosi’s “kneecaps” if she “lied” and was certain the House speaker wouldn’t have told the “truth.” She was in Washington at the time of the incident.

In the aftermath, top Democrats including President Joe Biden claimed the attack was politically motivated and attempted to link the incident to Republican officials. However, a former girlfriend of DePape told local media last month that he suffered from mental illness and shared her left-wing viewpoints when they were in a relationship years ago.

Questions were raised about why there apparently were no security guards at the Pelosis’ home, why no alarm system went off, or whether the U.S. Capitol Police was monitoring security cameras at their home. More questions emerged after NBC News published a report—before removing it from its website hours later—in which reporter Miguel Almaguer said that officers who went to the Pelosi residence on Oct. 28 “were seemingly unaware it was the home of the speaker of the House.”

Almaguer further stated that the officers knocked on the door and announced themselves. Court documents say Paul Pelosi opened the door.

However, Almaguer stated that Pelosi “did not immediately declare an emergency or try to leave his home but instead began walking several feet back toward the assailant and away from the police.”

He added that “it was unclear if the 82-year-old [Pelosi] was already injured or what his mental state was.”

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.