“Since Paul’s horrific attack early Friday, we have been inundated with thousands of messages of concern, prayers and well wishes,” the statement said. “Our family thanks everyone for their kindness.” David DePap, 42, has been charged with a string of crimes, including assault, attempted murder and attempted kidnapping, after breaking into the couple’s San Francisco home last week, the U.S. attorney’s office and his attorney announced Monday. San Francisco. He was charged with one count of “attempted kidnapping of a US official,” according to the US Attorney’s office for the Northern District of California. That charge relates to Nancy Pelosi, who Depp told police he planned to “hold hostage,” according to an FBI affidavit also unsealed Monday. The attempted kidnapping charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. DePape was also charged with assaulting a family member of a US official with the intent to retaliate against the official. This charge relates to a crime allegedly committed against Paul Pelosi and carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The federal charges against DePape are in addition to the state charges, which San Francisco’s district attorney said later Monday include “attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder, as well as making threats against a public official and their family.” Based on the current state charges, DePape faces 13 years to life in prison, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said. He said DePape is expected in court for his arraignment Tuesday. Jenkins said at her press conference that the attack on Pelosi was “politically motivated.” “Yes, it appears that this was, based on his statements and comments made in that house during his meeting with Mr. Pelosi, that this was politically motivated,” Jenkins said. CNN reported earlier Monday that Paul Pelosi was interviewed this weekend at the hospital by investigators and was able to provide details about the attack, according to two law enforcement sources and a source familiar with the matter. Among those conducting the interview were the FBI and local law enforcement investigators.
The most detailed description of Paul Pelosi’s 911 call was revealed in court
The court filing related to the federal charges against DePape reveals the most detailed account of Paul Pelosi’s 911 call while the incident was unfolding. “Pelosi said there was a male in the house and that the male would be waiting for Pelosi’s wife. Pelosi also said she didn’t know who the man was. The male said his name was David,” an FBI agent he said in an affidavit unsealed Monday. Paul Pelosi called 911 at 2:23 am. Pacific time on Friday and police arrived at his home eight minutes later, according to the affidavit that was unsealed Monday. “When the door opened, Pelosi and Depp were both holding a hammer with one hand and Depp was holding Pelosi’s forearm with the other hand,” the affidavit said. “Pelosi greeted the officers. The officers asked them what was going on. Depp replied that everything was fine. The officers then asked Pelosi and Depp to drop the hammer.” At that moment, DePape allegedly pulled out the gavel and swung it, hitting Paul Pelosi in the head. Pelosi “appeared to be unconscious on the ground” after the hit, the affidavit said. Paul Pelosi was later taken to the hospital and underwent “successful surgery to repair a fractured skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” according to an earlier news release from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. They said they expect Paul Pelosi to make a full recovery. A source familiar with the matter provided CNN with more information about the attack on Paul Pelosi and the extent of his injuries following the federal criminal complaint. The source said DePape hit Pelosi twice in the head. Pelosi required surgery for a fractured skull and also had serious injuries to his arms and right hand, leading to him cutting off his shirt at the hospital to treat his hand, the source said. Paul Pelosi was sleeping in boxers and a pajama top in the third-floor bedroom of his San Francisco home, the source said, when authorities claimed Depp broke in. CNN previously reported that Pelosi was able to keep the line open with 911, the dispatcher could hear a conversation in the background and that Pelosi was speaking in code to help authorities figure out what was going on. “DePape was prepared to arrest and injure Speaker Pelosi when he entered the Pelosi residence early on the morning of October 28, 2022,” the FBI agent said in the affidavit. “DePape had zip ties, tape, rope and at least one hammer with him that morning.” DePape has yet to appear in court in connection with the attack. According to the criminal complaint filed in court, DePape confessed in an interview with local police that he intended to find the speaker of the House and hold her hostage. The FBI affidavit filed with the complaint said: “DePape stated that he was going to hold Nancy hostage and talk to her. He was going to break ‘her knees.’ “DePape was confident that Nancy would not have told the ‘truth,’” the FBI affidavit said. The affidavit further stated that DePape told police that Nancy Pelosi was the “leader of the pack” of lies being promoted by the Democratic Party. DePapp told police that other members of Congress would see consequences for their actions when Pelosi, with broken knees, “wheeled into the House chamber,” according to the affidavit. The interview was conducted by the San Francisco Police Department on Friday, the day of the attack, court records show. DePape was read his Miranda rights before he spoke to police and confessed his intentions to kidnap the top House Democrat, records show.
The FBI affidavit further debunks the conspiracy promoted by Elon Musk
The federal charges unsealed Monday also further debunk a conspiracy theory about the attack on Pelosi that had been shared on Twitter by its billionaire owner Elon Musk. The conspiracy theory claimed, among other things, that Paul Pelosi knew his attacker. Musk tweeted a link to an article promoting the theory on Sunday, though he later deleted it. The FBI affidavit, unsealed Monday along with the federal charges, says Pelosi told a 911 dispatcher during the call that she “doesn’t know who the man is” who broke into his home. Additionally, the affidavit said San Francisco police officers interviewed Pelosi in the ambulance on the way to the hospital and he said, “He had never seen David Depp before.” Earlier Monday, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott told CNN’s Ana Cabrera that Paul Pelosi did not know the suspect. The police chief said the wave of conspiracies surrounding the case were “baseless” and “damaging” to the ongoing investigation.
