A San Francisco police officer testified during a preliminary hearing that he witnessed the attack that a man carried out on Paul Pelosi earlier this year.
David DePape, 42, is accused of attacking U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, 82, on Oct. 28. He claimed to officers that he was waiting for the speaker to come home but instead attacked Paul Pelosi, hitting him in the head with a hammer, when Nancy could not be found, police said.
During the preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented the officer’s witness testimony, as well as the hammer used in the attack, the 911 call made by Paul Pelosi to the San Francisco police, and brief video footage of the attack captured on body cameras.
The hearing comes as Nancy Pelosi’s portrait was unveiled in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Pelosi announced last month that she would not seek a leadership position in the next Congress session.
READ IN FULL: FEDERAL CHARGES LODGED AGAINST ALLEGED PAUL PELOSI ATTACKER
DePape has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges. He appeared in court for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday relating to a slew of state charges, including attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder, and threats to a public official. If convicted, he could face 13 years to life for the charges.
Federal charges against DePape include attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault against a family member of a federal official.
DePape has an extensive history of spewing far-right extremist views and peddling conspiracy theories on social media on topics such as the COVID-19 vaccine, the 2020 election, and the Capitol riot, according to multiple reports.
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Upon realizing Nancy Pelosi was not in the home, the attacker restrained Paul Pelosi with the zip ties he brought to the house, but Paul Pelosi managed to slip away and call the police, according to a police complaint.
After being subdued, DePape told police that Paul Pelosi had taken the “punishment” intended for his wife and was intending to go on a “suicide mission,” with plans to attack other Californian and federal politicians, police said.
