David DePape planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and break into Nancy Pelosi’s home to talk to her about Russian involvement in the 2016 election, he testified in San Francisco Federal Court on Tuesday.
A tearful DePape said his plan was to get the former Speaker of the House and his other high-profile “targets” to admit their corruption and eventually ask President Joe Biden to pardon the group.
Instead, DePape found Paul Pelosi at home and hit the 83-year-old man with a hammer as his wife was still in Washington DC at the time of the October 28, 2022 break-in.
“He was never my target and I’m sorry he was hurt,” DePape, 43, said of Paul Pelosi. “I’m reacting because my plan is basically ruined,” adding he wanted to ask Biden to pardon his target “so we can move forward as a country.”
DePape said he would listen to political podcasts espousing right-wing conspiracies while he played video games six hours a day.
Paul Pelosi leaves court after a hearing Monday.AP Christine Pelosi, left, waves to her father Paul Pelosi as she leaves the federal building.AP
On one of those podcasts, he heard conservative commentator James Lindsay talk about Bay Area scholar Dr. Gayle Rubin, a leading academic in feminist theory and queer studies.
“The impression I got was that he wanted to turn our school into a pedophile molestation factory,” he said of Rubin, who has been referred to as “Target 1” in federal court documents.
Rubin also testified Tuesday and said his writing was misconstrued as a narrative against the gay movement.
When asked by DePape’s defense attorney if he supported child abuse, Rubin replied, “Absolutely not.”
In his blog posts that have since been taken down, DePape wrote frequently about QAnon and the baseless theory that former President Donald Trump was at war with a group of Satan-worshiping Democratic elites who ran a global pedophile sex ring.
David DePape spoke for more than an hour Tuesday.California DMV Phillip Burton Federal Building, where David DePape’s federal trial is underway.AP
Prosecutors said DePape’s other “targets” included actor Tom Hanks, [Calif. rep] Adam Schiff, California’s Gavin Newsom, President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and billionaire George Soros.
During his shocking testimony Monday, Paul Pelosi recounted how he was able to call 911 while DePape was preparing to tie him up.
“The door opened and a very large man came in with a hammer in one hand and some ties in the other and he said, ‘Where’s nancy? And I think that woke me up,” Paul Pelosi testified.
He added, “I realized that I was in serious danger.”
Pelosi managed to convince DePape to move from the bedroom to the first floor of the house in hopes that the police were on their way.
Paul Pelosi was not DePape’s primary target.AP DePape told detectives he wanted to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage.AFP via Getty Images
As soon as Pelosi opened the door to officers, DePape grabbed the hammer and hit Paul with it, body camera video showed.
Pelosi suffered a fractured skull and serious cuts to her right arm and hand in the attack and was hospitalized for several days for treatment.
Paul Pelosi has since made public appearances, but his wife said in January he was “making progress, but it’s going to take more time,” before he’s back to normal.
DePape faces up to life in prison if convicted on federal charges of attempted kidnapping of a federal officer and assaulting a federal officer’s immediate family member in retaliation for the performance of their duties.
DePape also faces charges of attempted murder in a separate state case. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is awaiting a trial date.
Gypsy Taub, who was in a relationship with DePape for 15 years and has two children with him, told The Post watching DePape break down in the stands was difficult because she’s not usually a very emotional person.
Taub said he believed authorities coerced DePape into confessing to the assault and appeared to be less than himself during his brief testimony. She claims authorities have prevented her and her children from visiting DePape since he was arrested in October 2022.
“Her testimony lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, but she cried and cried three or four times,” said Taub, an activist known for her pro-nudity stance. “It was as if he was not in the room and sat there, frozen.
“I already doubt that his confession to the police was false because it was only on audio, but I’m glad the jury got to see him testify and will be able to decide on the validity of the confession.”
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
