David DePape gave testimony in his federal trial on Tuesday morning and explained his intentions for the bludgeoning of Paul Pelosi, husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at their San Francisco house last year.
Canadian-born DePape said he was staying in a friend’s Richmond garage while working as a carpenter at the time of the attack. He would play video games for hours on end and then switch to online political information, primarily from conservative media outlets’ YouTube channels and podcasts.
The defense for DePape states that the attack on the Pelosis’ house was part of a larger scheme to eradicate corruption in the United States. To the charges of trying to kidnap and assault the family member of a federal official to retaliate against her official duties, DePape has pled not guilty. His defense contends that he was not aiming to go after Nancy Pelosi because of her official obligations as a member of Congress, and thus, the allegations do not apply.
Paul Pelosi spoke publicly for the first time about the attack, describing how he was awakened by a guy who had broken down his bedroom door and demanded, “Where’s Nancy?” He said that DePape threatened to bind him up while they waited for his wife to return to her house.
Hunter Biden, Adam Schiff (Congressman), former Attorney General Bill Barr, Tom Hanks, Senator Bernie Sanders, and California Governor Gavin Newsom were all on DePape’s hit list. He intended to approach Nancy Pelosi and the others so that they would confess their wrongdoing and then be pardoned by President Joe Biden. DePape cried, saying he wanted them all pardoned so the country could move forward.
After hearing the testimony of the neurosurgeon who treated him after the attack, DePape said he felt terrible for Pelosi.
DePape may spend up to 50 years in jail if found guilty. In state court, he faced allegations of attempted murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, elder abuse, domestic burglary, and other offenses; he has pled not guilty to all of them.
