Washington
CNN
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Disturbing new details have emerged in the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, including that the alleged assailant told police he was on a “suicide mission” and had a list of other prominent targets.
“This was not a random act of violence. This was not a random residential burglary. This is something that was specifically targeted,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said Tuesday.
Here’s what we presently know about the attack.
The alleged suspect, David DePape, 42, told officers and medics at the scene that he was sick of the “level of lies” coming from Washington, DC, and “came here to have a little chat with [Pelosi’s] wife,” according to a Tuesday court filing.
“I didn’t really want to hurt him, but you know this was a suicide mission. I’m not going to stand here and do nothing even if it cost me my life,” DePape allegedly said.
DePape named several targets, according to the filing, including prominent state and federal politicians and their relatives.
Jenkins confirmed to CNN earlier Tuesday that authorities believe DePape had other “targets” besides the House speaker.
Asked by CNN’s Erin Burnett about the suspect’s alleged plans, Jenkins said that “there were other public officials that were apparently targets of his, and obviously he showed up at the speaker’s house first.” The case, Jenkins said, is still “very fresh” and she declined to give specific details of who had been a potential target.
DePape has been “cooperative” with police and “submitted to a lengthy interview” before obtaining representation through counsel, according to the district attorney.
US Capitol Police first learned of the break-in at the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about 10 minutes after the incident when an officer noticed police lights and sirens on a live camera feed in the Capitol Police’s Washington, DC, command center, according to a source briefed on the attack.
CNN previously reported there may be video of the break-in that US Capitol Police and law enforcement could review as there are security cameras at the home, according to two law enforcement sources.
The San Francisco Police Department had stopped regularly posting a patrol car outside Pelosi’s house last year, according to two additional sources.
DePape entered a not guilty plea Tuesday to all state charges during his initial appearance in court.
He also waived his right to a hearing within 10 days at his arraignment in a San Francisco court room. Judge Diane Northway set a hearing for November 4 in San Francisco Superior Court to set a date for the preliminary hearing and bail setting.
DePape has been charged with a litany of crimes, including assault, attempted murder and attempted kidnapping, following last week’s break-in.
The attempted kidnapping charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. He has not yet entered a plea in federal court.
DePape’s attorney, Adam Lipson, said outside the courtroom, “There’s been a lot of speculation, a lot of rumor, simply based on the nature of this case. So I’m not going to add to all the speculation by talking about the facts of this case right now.”
“What I will say is that there’s been a lot of speculation regarding Mr. DePape’s vulnerability to misinformation and that’s certainly something we are going to look into, that we are going to delve into, as his defense team, but again it would be premature to talk about that at this time,” Lipson said.
US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said Tuesday the agency has “engaged in a review” of the incident and said the current political climate calls for more resources for the physical safety of members of Congress.
“We believe today’s political climate calls for more resources to provide additional layers of physical security for Members of Congress,” Manger said in a written statement.
“This plan would include an emphasis on adding redundancies to the measures that are already in place for Congressional leadership. Hopefully you can understand that we cannot disclose the details about these improvements because our country cannot afford to make it easier for any potential bad actors,” he added.
Manger also said the Capitol Police has “worked diligently to investigate reported threats, improve intelligence collection and analysis, and strengthen our partnerships with law enforcement agencies across the country to provide security for Members when they are traveling outside Washington, DC.”
California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on Tuesday that lawmakers won’t be any safer “until we call out what is the root cause of this political violence.”
“The head of the RNC, Ronna McDaniel and also Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, expressed sadness for Paul Pelosi. But then went onto say ‘it’s really a product of crime – that’s the Democrats fault.’”
“That’s like saying Lee Harvey Oswald was connected with crime in Dallas or John Wilkes Booth was the result of a crime problem at Ford’s Theater. Not only is it ridiculous, it is part of the problem of dismissing what is causing this violence,” Lofgren said.
Just one day after releasing a tepid but grounded statement on the incident, former President Donald Trump fanned the flames of an unfounded conspiracy about the attack.
“It’s weird things going on in that household in the last couple of weeks,” Trump said. “You know, probably, you and I are better off not talking about it. The glass, it seems, was broken from the inside to the out and, you know, so, it wasn’t a break in, it was a break out,” the former President told conservative radio host Chris Stigall.
Trump went on to say that he’s “not a fan of Nancy Pelosi,” but that what happened was “very sad.” He added: “The whole thing is crazy. I mean, if there’s even a little bit of truth to what’s being said, it’s crazy. But the window was broken in and it was strange the cops were standing there practically from the moment it all took place.”
In the days following the attack, several prominent right-wing figures have floated conspiracy theories about the attack – including that Paul Pelosi and the intruder were gay lovers who had gotten into a fight.
The spurious theory traces back to an incorrect early news report and a handful of pieces of evidence that its proponents have spun wildly out of context. It runs entirely contrary to the explanation police and federal law enforcement have outlined.
“There is absolutely no evidence that Mr. Pelosi knew this man,” San Francisco Police Chief William Scott told CNN in an interview. “As a matter of fact, the evidence indicates the exact opposite.”