Alleged Pelosi assailant charged with attempted kidnapping, assault

Federal authorities have charged the suspect accused of brutally attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) husband with attempted kidnapping and assault, multiple outlets reported Monday, per court documents.

After breaking into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco early Friday morning, the alleged assailant, David Wayne DePape, woke up Paul Pelosi and demanded to know the House speaker's whereabouts, The Washington Post reports, according to the documents. When Mr. Pelosi said his wife was away (she was in Washington, D.C. at the time), DePape reportedly said he would wait.

When responding officers arrived at the scene (Mr. Pelosi was eventually able to call 911), they saw both men holding onto a hammer in DePape's hand. Officers told the men to drop the hammer, "at which point DePape allegedly wrested the tool free and struck Paul Pelosi with it in the head, knocking him unconscious," the Post continues, per the affidavit.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

While in custody, DePape later said he wanted to "hold Nancy hostage and talk to her." If she told him "the truth," he said we would let her go; but if she "lied" he planned to break "her kneecaps" to show "other members of Congress there were consequences to actions," the document read. DePape also allegedly said he hoped to use Pelosi to lure another individual to him; the affidavit did not detail who that might be.

The attempted kidnapping charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while the assault charge carries up to 30, per The New York Times.