The man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi last year told a California jury on Tuesday that his political beliefs ultimately inspired him to seek out the San Francisco home of then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi, and that he only hit her husband with a hammer because his larger plan was at risk.
Testifying in federal court in his own defense, David DePape appeared somewhat nervous and became emotional at times as he shared examples of conspiracy theories he felt were true, providing insight into his motivations before the attack on Paul Pelosi in the early hours of October 28, 2022. DePape, who described his political leanings Tuesday as “right of center,” told the jury he had believed the media was distorting or lying about former President Donald Trump and that “everything was a lie coming from the press.”
DePape, 42, said he was focused on Nancy Pelosi and that her husband, Paul, was not on his list of targets. He was “surprised and confused,” he said, when he found the congresswoman was not home at the time.
“I’m telling him, I have other targets, but if you stop me, I’ll go through you,” DePape said, recounting a conversation with Paul Pelosi.
“I reacted. I hit him in the head,” DePape testified. “I reacted because my plan was basically ruined.”
DePape told the jury that he had thought Pelosi was dead until he saw the charges against him and that he recalled hitting him once, though noted that a medical report detailed that Pelosi had been hit multiple times. “I felt bad for him because we had a really good rapport and things were going good until the very last second,” he told the jury.
DePape has pleaded not guilty to federal charges in connection with the attack, including assault on the immediate family member of a federal official and the attempted kidnapping of a federal official. He faces a maximum of 30 years…
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