David Depape is shown in Berkeley, Calif.,on Friday, Dec. 13, 2013. An intruder attacked and severely beat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband with a hammer in the couple's San Francisco home early Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, while searching for the Democratic leader. Police were called to the home to check on Paul Pelosi when they discovered the 82-year-old and the suspect, Depape, both grabbing onto the hammer, said Police Chief William Scott.(Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
SAN FRANCISCO — The man suspected of bludgeoning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband at their San Francisco home will have a preliminary hearing next month, the latest step after an attack that gripped the nation’s attention and raised fears about rising political violence just days before the midterms.
David DePape, 42, is facing a slate of both state and federal charges, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary, false imprisonment and threatening the life or serious bodily harm to a public official.
On Friday morning, his preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 14. Local prosecutors will try to prove that they have enough evidence to charge DePape and witnesses may also be called in, including the House Speaker’s husband or the 911 dispatcher who spoke with him during the incident.
“There is evidence pouring in every single day,” said San Francisco’s District Attorney Brooke Jenkins at a press conference on Friday. “We believe we have sufficient evidence to prove he’s committed this crime.”
Loretta M. Giorgi, the San Francisco Superior Court judge overseeing scheduling on Friday, disclosed to attorneys that she had previously worked with Nancy Pelosi’s daughter, Christine, while at the city attorney’s office. The District Attorney said lawyers in the case could file a motion — based on the disclosure — for Giorgi to not oversee evidence in the case and that another judge could step into that role.
Paul Pelosi, 82, was released from Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Thursday, nearly a week after the attack that occurred at the Pacific Heights home he shares with Nancy Pelosi. The couple were married in 1963.
A statement released by the family Thursday included appreciation for the healthcare workers and law enforcement who responded to the early morning attack.
“The Pelosi family is thankful for the beautiful outpouring of love, support and prayers from around the world,” the statement read. “Paul is grateful to the 911 operator, emergency responders, trauma care team, ICU staff, and the entire ZSFGH medical staff for their excellent and compassionate life-saving treatment he received after the violent assault in our home.”
“Paul remains under doctors’ care as he continues to progress on a long recovery process and convalescence,” according to the statement. “He is now home surrounded by his family who request privacy.”
DePape is being held without bail at San Francisco County jail on both federal and state charges. On Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty to the local charges.
A Canadian citizen, DePape had recently been living in a garage in Richmond and appears to have been illegally living in the U.S. for more than a decade, according to immigration officials. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have placed a retainer on DePape while he is in jail, asking to be notified before DePape is released from custody.
Police believe that DePape broke into a glass door at the Pelosi home around 2 a.m. on Oct. 28 in an attempt to kidnap the Speaker of the House and “break her kneecaps.” Court records show that DePape believed Nancy Pelosi was the “leader of the pack” of Democrats who spread lies.
Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C. at the time of the attack.
In addition to targeting Nancy Pelosi, DePape had plans to target a local law professor and other politicians and their families, authorities have said.
Court documents released this week show Paul Pelosi was woken in the night by DePape, who asked where his wife was. Pelosi was able to call 911 without DePape’s knowledge and dispatchers who found the call suspicious immediately sent police to the couple’s home. When officers arrived at the home, he was struck by DePape in the head with a hammer, leaving him unconscious in a pool of his own blood.
NBC News reported Friday that police who arrived during the early hours of Oct. 28 were unaware whose home they were responding to — and that Pelosi himself answered the door.
Originally published at Gabriel Greschler