The Justice Department formally announced charges against David DePape, the man who broke into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home on Oct. 28 looking for Pelosi and, not finding her, assaulted her husband, Paul.
DePape has been charged with “one count of assault of an immediate family member of a United States official with the intent to retaliate against the official on account of the performance of official duties,” and “one count of attempted kidnapping of a United States official on account of the performance of official duties.” The maximum sentences for the two charges are 30 years and 20 years, respectively.
RELATED STORY: Republicans are dodging so hard now because they did so much to inspire an attack on Nancy Pelosi
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In the affidavit supporting the charges, Special Agent Stephanie Minor offers details about the break-in and attack. According to the affidavit:
“When officers removed DEPAPE from Pelosi’s residence, police body worn camera footage showed a glass door that appeared to be laminated glass, broken near the door handle. San Francisco Police Department recovered zip ties in Pelosi’s bedroom and in the hallway near the front door of the Pelosi residence. In addition, law enforcement searched DEPAPE’s backpack at the Pelosi residence, and they found, among other things, a roll of tape, white rope, one hammer, one pair of rubber and cloth gloves, and a journal.”
Paul Pelosi told a local police officer he had never seen DePape before.
“Pelosi was asleep when DEPAPE came into Pelosi’s bedroom and stated he wanted to talk to ‘Nancy.’ When Pelosi told him that Nancy was not there, DEPAPE stated that he would sit and wait. Pelosi stated that his wife would not be home for several days and then DEPAPE reiterated that he would wait.”
Depape, according to the affidavit, told officers “that he was going to hold Nancy hostage and talk to her. If Nancy were to tell DEPAPE the ‘truth,’ he would let her go, and if she ‘lied,’ he was going to break ‘her kneecaps.’ DEPAPE was certain that Nancy would not have told the ‘truth.’” And this is what he’s telling law enforcement he had planned.
He admitted to having broken into the house through the glass door using his hammer. None of this will stop Republicans from promoting conspiracy theories about how DePape ended up in the Pelosi house.
DePape will face prosecution and is virtually certain to be convicted of something if he’s found competent to stand trial. But the people who fueled his rage by spreading the conspiracy theories he bought into are unlikely to face any kind of justice, and they will remain dangerous.
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