Paul Pelosi attack: Court hears DePape was on ‘suicide mission’ as Megyn Kelly raises conspiracies

Assailant breaks into Nancy Pelosi’s home, attacks husband Paul Pelosi

David DePape, the man accused of beating House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul with a hammer during a struggle in the couple’s San Francisco home, pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance on Tuesday.

In court documents, prosecutors described Mr DePape as embarking on a “suicide mission” targeting the Pelosis, as well as other state and federal officials.

The 42-year-old could face as many as 50 years in prison if found guilty on state and federal charges.

Police body camera footage of the attack could be shown during the trial, police told The Independent.

Elsewhere, Sen Ted Cruz was called out by critics for propping up conspiracy theories about the violent assault on the House Speaker’s husband.

Brooke Jenkins said that her office will charge the suspect with 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.

It came hours after it was announced that the suspect is facing two federal charges for threatening violence against a US official’s spouse.

What we know so far

• David DePape pleads not guilty in first court appearance for Paul Pelosi hammer attack
• San Francisco prosecutor says body cam footage shows Pelosi attack
• Megyn Kelly echoes conspiracies on Paul Pelosi attack: ‘I know enough to smell a rat’
• Ted Cruz faces furious calls to apologise for pushing Paul Pelosi attack conspiracy theories
• Fox News defends Elon Musk conspiracy theory tweet
• Ex-partner of David DePape claims he was ‘mentally ill for a long time’
• Nancy Pelosi breaks silence over attack on husband

[1 November 2022 04:30 · Megan Sheets]

Read the full criminal complaint against David DePape

A seven-page criminal complaint filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California on Monday afternoon outlines evidence in support of federal charges against Mr DePape.

The filing was penned by FBI Special Agent Stephanie Minor.

It includes new details about how the attack unfolded and Mr DePape’s alleged motivations.

Read the filing in full here.

And The Independent’s full account of the filing:

[1 November 2022 07:00 · Megan Sheets]

Trump blames ‘Democrat-run cities’ for attack on Paul Pelosi

Former president Donald Trump has weighed in on the violent attack against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, in an interview with a right-wing Spanish-language network.

Speaking to a host from Americano Media on Monday, Mr Trump called the attack on Mr Pelosi “a terrible thing” but suggested the violent assault and home invasion was a reflection of the conditions in cities where voters choose to elect Democrats, rather than a targeted attack on the person who is second in the presidential line of succession.

“Look at what’s happened to San Francisco, generally — look at what is happening in Chicago,” he said, describing crime in the Windy City as “ far worse than Afghanistan”.

Andrew Feinberg has more of the details here:

[1 November 2022 09:00 · Megan Sheets]

What we know about David DePape

David DePape is facing federal charges for allegedly breaking into the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband Paul Pelosi in the early morning hours of 28 October.

Mr Pelosi, 82, was hospitalised with grave skull injuries following the attack at the couple’s San Francisco home.

On Monday, the FBI filed a criminal complaint against Mr DePape, 42, outlining charges of assault on the immediate family member of a federal official and attempted kidnapping of a federal official.

According to the complaint, he suspect repeatedly shouted “where is Nancy?” when confronted by Mr Pelosi after breaking into the home armed with a hammer, zip ties, tape and rope.

Mr DePape was previously expected to be charged with attempted homicide, among other charges, according to police.

Here, The Independent breaks down everything we know about the suspect in the attack, Mr DePape, so far:

[1 November 2022 10:00 · Megan Sheets]

Opinion: After the Paul Pelosi attack, there’s been no soul-searching on the right

Back in 2008, the late congressman John Lewis — whose skull was once fractured by police in Selma, Alabama — warned that John McCain and Sarah Palin’s rhetoric about then-Democratic nominee Barack Obama on the campaign trail mirrored that of segregationist Alabama governor George Wallace. That was not a comparison that Lewis drew lightly, writes The Independent’s Eric Garcia.

But over the 14 years that have elapsed between Lewis’s warning about extremist rhetoric and the threat on Paul Pelosi’s life, the violent tenor of public discourse has only intensified. In 2010, plenty of Tea Party candidates alluded to violence; Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle mused publicly that “people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies.” The following year, Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head.

[1 November 2022 10:59 · Johanna Chisholm]

Donald Trump Jr deletes memes mocking Pelosi attack after blowback

Donald Trump Jr, the self-described “general in meme wars”, had a rare about-face on Monday.

On Sunday evening, the former president’s son had shared memes on his Instagram account mocking the attack on Paul Pelosi, which were quickly and widely condemned by his critics as “dangerous”, “sick” and “homophobic”.

On Monday afternoon, despite seeming to double down on the posts earlier in the day, Mr Trump Jr had deleted the offending posts off his public Instagram profile.

The exact timing of the posts getting deleted was unclear, but it seemed to arrive after federal charges were announced against the suspect in the attack, David DePape, which included charges of assault on the immediate family member of a federal official and attempted kidnapping of a federal official.

The memes, however, were not fully scrubbed from his online presence as they still remained in full view on his personal Twitter account as of Tuesday morning.

[1 November 2022 11:35 · Johanna Chisholm]

David DePape, suspect in hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, due in court in San Francisco on Tuesday

David DePape, 42, the man accused of beating House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer during a struggle in the couple’s San Francisco home, was expected to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old was scheduled for a hearing where he will be advised of the state court charges against him: attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, elder abuse and threatening a public official, Reuters reported.

It was unclear if Mr DePape would be in court in-person for the arraignment or if he would appear via video link from jail or a local hospital, where he was transported after his arrest.

Federal prosecutors have charged him separately with assault and attempted kidnapping. He is not yet scheduled for a court appearance in the federal case.

The state charges are punishable by a prison sentence of 13 years to life. The federal charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 50 years, the Justice Department said in a statement announcing the charges.

[1 November 2022 12:05 · Johanna Chisholm]

Domestic violent extremism is ‘one of the greatest terrorism related threats that we face’: US Secretary Mayorkas

The Department of Homeland Security warned on CNN that “domestic violent extremism” is one of the “greatest” threats facing Americans living inside the country today.

“Domestic violent extremism is a terrorism related threat to the Homeland that we have been tracking now for a good considerable amount of time. It’s one of the greatest terrorism related threats that we face in the homeland,” said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas while appearing on CNN on Monday.

The secretary said that he wouldn’t label the attack against Paul Pelosi “domestic terrorism”, as it was currently under investigation by local and federal authorities.

Watch the full clip below:

[1 November 2022 12:35 · Johanna Chisholm]

Rep Swalwell calls out Sen Cornyn: ‘Is it just own the Libs at all costs, even as the man is treated at an ICU?’

Democratic Rep Eric Swalwell called out his Republican colleague, Sen John Cornyn, for not giving a full-throated condemnation of the violent assault against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband last week.

“Are you so indecent that you can’t simply say ‘I hope Mr. Pelosi recovers and I denounce violence of any motivation?’ Seriously? Is that so God Damned hard for you?” asked the California Democrat in a tweet, while quote tweeting a message from the Republican. “Or is it just own the Libs at all costs, even as the man is treated at an ICU?”

In Sen Cornyn’s tweet, which was referenced by the California congressman, he wrote: “If Paul Depape has overstayed his visa and was illegally present in US, will Biden administration seek to deport him as part of the consequences of the assault of Paul Pelosi?”

[1 November 2022 13:00 · Johanna Chisholm]

Capitol rioter who threatened to shoot Nancy Pelosi ‘in the frickin’ brain’ to be released from prison

A US Capitol rioter who said she had looked for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to kill her on 6 January 2021 is scheduled to be released from a West Virginia prison on Thursday after serving 60 days.

“We broke into the Capitol, we got inside, we did our part,” Dawn Bancroft said in a selfie video she took after leaving the Capitol. “We were looking for Nancy to shoot her in the frickin’ brain, but we didn’t find her.”

During Ms Bancroft’s sentencing, district Judge Emmet Sullivan said: “Those comments, Mrs. Bancroft, are not acceptable in a democratic society.”

“I feel bad for you, I feel bad for you that you made these comments.”

[1 November 2022 13:15 · Johanna Chisholm]

David DePape planned to ‘break Nancy Pelosi’s kneecaps’ over ‘Democrat lies’

In the federal charges filed against David DePape, 42, on Monday, a criminal complaint - based on an FBI affidavit - revealed some of the suspected attacker’s intentions behind the alleged attack.

The criminal complaint was based on an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Stephanie Minor and states that Mr DePape attacked Mr Pelosi “with intent to retaliate against” the speaker “on account of the performance of official duties”.

“DePape stated that he was going to hold Nancy hostage and talk to her. If Nancy were to tell DePape the ‘truth,’ he would let her go, and if she ‘lied,’ he was going to break ‘her kneecaps’,” the complaint said. “DePape was certain that Nancy would not have told the ‘truth.’ In the course of the interview, DePape articulated he viewed Nancy as the ‘leader of the pack’ of lies told by the Democratic Party.”

Read the full report with The Independent here.