The man accused of attacking the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer told police he also planned to target several other politicians as part of a “suicide mission,” according to court documents filed Tuesday.
David DePape, 42, was arrested last week after he allegedly broke into the couple’s mansion intending to tie up Pelosi and break her kneecaps, but found only her 82-year-old husband.
He was ordered to be held in custody after he pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges during his arraignment Tuesday at a San Francisco court.
In new court filings, state prosecutors said DePape told police he was sick of “lies coming out of Washington” and had “named several targets, including a local professor, several prominent state and federal politicians” as well as their relatives.
“I didn’t really want to hurt him, but you know this was a suicide mission,” DePape allegedly told officers at the scene of his arrest, referring to Paul Pelosi.
“I’m not going to stand here and do nothing even if it cost me my life.”
According to the state prosecutors’ filing, DePape startled Paul Pelosi awake from his bed in the early hours of Friday, holding a hammer and several plastic zip ties.
He told Paul Pelosi he had come to find Nancy Pelosi because she is “number two in line for the presidency,” and “we’ve got to take them all out.”