Pelosi Suspect When Told to Drop Hammer: 'Ummm Nope'

Charging document details what happened between Paul Pelosi, suspect in Oct. 28 break-in
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 10, 2022 6:57 AM CST
Suspect Indicted in Attack on Paul Pelosi
Paul Pelosi, right, is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 17.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

David DePape, the suspect in the attack last month on Paul Pelosi, was indicted Wednesday on charges of assault and attempted kidnapping. Politico notes these charges handed down by a federal grand jury supplant similar ones filed in an earlier complaint. The six-page document details how the San Francisco Police Department got a 911 call from Pelosi around 2:20am on Oct. 28, in which Pelosi told the dispatcher that a man was in his home looking for his wife, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who wasn't home at the time. The man told Paul Pelosi he would "wait" for the speaker to get home, even though Pelosi told him that his wife wouldn't be back "for days," according to the indictment.

The document notes that, despite conspiracy theories to the contrary, "Mr. Pelosi made clear in the 911 call that he did not know who the man was," though the 911 dispatcher could hear DePape in the background saying his name was "David" and claiming he was a "friend." Cops say when they arrived at the home a few minutes later and opened the door, they saw Pelosi and DePape in the foyer "jointly gripping a hammer," per the indictment. DePape allegedly then said that "everything is good" in response to the officers' questions about what was going on, and when an officer told him to drop the hammer, he replied, "Ummm nope," then "pulled the hammer over his head ... and swung the hammer abruptly and forcefully at Mr. Pelosi," the indictment notes.

It was at that point that officers rushed into the home and restrained DePape, per the indictment, which adds the entire incident took about 15 seconds. The document adds that police discovered zip ties inside Pelosi's home, as well as a backpack on the back porch that contained another hammer, rope, tape, and gloves. Law enforcement sources tell CBS News that DePape also had a list of other people he wanted to go after. The charge of assault against the immediate family member of a federal official could bring DePape, 42, up to 30 years behind bars, while the attempted kidnapping charge holds a max of 20 years in prison. DePape is also facing state charges, for which he has pleaded not guilty, of attempted murder, burglary, and elder abuse. A San Francisco judge ordered him kept in custody without bail over those charges. (More Paul Pelosi stories.)

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