“These will be parallel prosecutions”: Official announces charges against alleged Paul Pelosi attacker David DePape

On Monday, October 31, the San Francisco District Attorney charged 42-year-old David DePape with several felonies over his alleged attack on 82-year-old businessman Paul Pelosi.

On October 28, David DePape was accused by San Francisco authorities of breaking into the Pelosi home, reportedly with the intention of attacking politician and speaker in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.

The San Francisco police reported that due to Nancy Pelosi's absence, DePape supposedly beat Paul Pelosi with a hammer before attempting to keep him captive.

According to the New York Post, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced that David DePape had been charged with attempted murder, elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment of an elder, and residential burglary. He will also face federal charges for attempted kidnapping and assault.

Jenkins said:

“What is clear based on the evidence that we have thus far is that this house and the Speaker herself were specifically targets of the defendant."

She added:

“These will be parallel prosecutions."

If convicted of the felony charges, DePape could face life imprisonment.

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Details of the David DePape case

In the police affidavit, San Francisco authorities summed up what reportedly happened during the attack on the Pelosi home.

The affidavit read:

"The facts of the investigation to date reveal that DEPAPE was prepared to detain and injure Speaker Pelosi when he entered the Pelosi residence in the early morning of October 28, 2022. DEPAPE had zip ties, tape, rope, and at least one hammer with him that morning. The evidence further shows that DEPAPE assaulted Mr. Pelosi with DEPAPE’s own hammer."

The affidavit also stated that when confronted by officers, DePape claimed that he attacked Pelosi in order to fight tyranny.

"(He claimed that) much like the American founding fathers with the British, he was fighting against tyranny without the option of surrender."

In an official statement, Brooke Jenkins condemned David DePape's actions, saying that he would face a harsh sentence in order to carry out a warning against anyone planning acts of political violence in San Francisco.

Jenkins said:

“As leaders and as citizens, it is incumbent upon us all to watch the words that we say and to turn down the volume of our political rhetoric. We should be able to all engage in passionate political discourse, but still remain respectful of one another."

She continued:

“Violence certainly has no place in San Francisco or in politics."

In an official statement, President Joe Biden said that David DePape is most likely a mentally ill man who may have been driven to the act of violence due to America's fraught political atmosphere.

President Biden said:

"What makes us think that one party can talk about 'stolen elections,' 'COVID being a hoax,' 'this is all a bunch of lies' — and it not affect people who may not be so well-balanced? What makes us think that it's not going to corrode the political climate?"

DePape is currently under police custody.