David DePape, the person accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s residence and violently assaulting her husband with a hammer, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges including attempted murder, in line with NBC news.
DePape’s arraignment in San Francisco Superior Court got here as Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old spouse of the top-ranking House Democrat, remained hospitalized after the alleged attack early Friday morning.
The 42-year-old suspect was booked in San Francisco county jail on quite a few state charges, including attempted murder, burglary, assault and false imprisonment, after being discharged from the hospital.
The Department of Justice has also charged DePape with two federal crimes, attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assaulting an instantaneous member of the family of a United States official with the intent to retaliate against the official, in line with his criminal criticism.
DePape was unshaven and had long hair in his first court appearance, NBC reported. He wore an orange jump suit, and his arm was in a sling because of a dislocated shoulder, his public defender Adam Lipson told reporters after the temporary hearing Tuesday afternoon.
DePape is currently being held without bail, Lipson said, adding that one other hearing is about for Friday.
DePape told police he was on a “suicide mission” and had plans to focus on other California and federal politicians, in line with a Tuesday court filing where prosecutors detailed the attack in stark terms as a part of their bid to maintain DePape behind bars.
DePape allegedly said he had other targets, including an area professor in addition to several distinguished state and federal politicians – and members of their families.
The filing also said that Paul Pelosi was knocked unconscious by the hammer attack and woke up in a pool of his own blood.
Wearing orange jail clothing, DePape only spoke to inform Judge Diane Northway how one can pronounce his last name (dih-PAP’). The 42-year-old defendant is scheduled to return to court Friday.
After the hearing, Lipson said he looks forward to providing DePape with a “vigorous defense.” He also said he met DePape on Monday night for the primary time and had not seen the police reports yet.Â
The attorney also gave his best wishes to Paul Pelosi, who’s recovering after undergoing surgery to repair a skull fracture.
Lipson declined to supply specifics about his defense strategy, but noted that there has “been a number of speculation regarding Mr. DePape’s vulnerability to misinformation, and that is definitely something that we’ll look into.”
The San Francisco District Attorney said Monday that the attack on the Pelosi residence gave the impression to be “politically motivated.”
Paul Pelosi told a police officer after the attack that DePape had woken him up in his bedroom early Friday morning and said he desired to confer with “Nancy,” in line with a federal affidavit.
Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C., on the time. Paul Pelosi managed to call 9-1-1, and when officers arrived, DePape struck him with the hammer, authorities said.
DePape himself later told police he saw the House speaker because the “‘leader of the pack’ of lies told by the Democratic Party,” the affidavit said. He said he desired to hold her hostage and confer with her, and if she lied he would break her kneecaps, the document said.
DePape had arrived on the San Francisco home toting zip ties, tape, rope and a minimum of one hammer, in line with the affidavit.
— The Associated Press contributed to this text.
