A man who stands accused of attacking the husband of outgoing US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, planned to target other “prominent” political and public figures, including President Joe Biden's son Hunter, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Hollywood star Tom Hanks, according to a court hearing.
San Francisco Police Department official Carla Hurley testified during the preliminary hearing on Wednesday that attacker David DePape had revealed “the hit list” to her during an interview shortly after he was arrested for breaking into the house of Nancy and Paul Pelosi in October.
Hurley added that DePape also talked about conspiracy theories that allegedly fueled the attack.
“There is evil in Washington, what they did went so far beyond the campaign. It originates with Hillary [Clinton]. Honestly, day in day out, they are lying. They go from one crime to another crime to another crime,” he argued.
At the end of the Wednesday hearing, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy ruled that prosecutors had shown enough evidence against DePape to advance his case to trial on state charges.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office in turn said in a statement that “DePape held to answer on all counts and allegations.”
On October 28, San Francisco police responded to a wellbeing check at the Pelosi residence, where they found Paul Pelosi and 42-year-old David DePape struggling over a hammer. DePape reportedly took the hammer and beat Pelosi with it before being apprehended by police. According to prosecutors, the 42-year-old planned to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage, but she was in Washington DC at the time.
Pelosi's husband suffered a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands during the attack. He underwent surgery to treat the injuries and was released from hospital on November 3.
DePape could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for the assault count and 20 years behind bars for the attempted kidnapping count, if convicted. He is due to be arraigned on the state charges on December 28.