David Depape is the suspect accused of attacking Paul Pelosi, the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with a hammer in the couple’s home on October 28, leaving Paul with serious blunt-force trauma.
Police have now released body cam video showing the Paul Pelosi attack. You can see it here.
Depape is a Berkeley, California, resident. What are Depape’s politics and was he on social media? On a blog and website, he was fixated on censorship and made antisemitic comments. In one post, he ranted about government attempts to control information, calling for the arrest of journalists from prominent news organizations. He also posted COVID and election conspiracy theories online and made posts about QAnon. Online records give Depape’s age as 42. The federal affidavit says he believed that Democrats were telling lies and wanted to kidnap Pelosi and possibly even break her kneecaps.
DePape, who knocked Pelosi unconscious in the attack with a hammer DePape brought to the scene, has now been charged federally with assault and attempted kidnapping. A press release from the U.S. Department of Justice says the suspect brought with him “a roll of tape, white rope, a second hammer, a pair of rubber and cloth gloves, and zip ties from the crime scene.” Pelosi said DePape, whom he said he had never seen before, entered his bedroom looking for Nancy, the release states.
You can read the affidavit here. It says that DePape admitted he was motivated by anger toward Democrats:
DEPAPE stated 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.’ In the course of the interview, DEPAPE articulated he viewed Nancy as the ‘leader of the pack; of lies told by the Democratic Party.
DEPAPE also later explained that by breaking Nancy’s kneecaps, she would then have to be wheeled into Congress, which would show other Members of Congress there were consequences to actions. DEPAPE also explained generally that he wanted to use Nancy to lure another individual to DEPAPE.
The affidavit says: “DEPAPE explained that he did not leave after Pelosi’s call to 9-1-1 because, much like the American founding fathers with the British, he was fighting against tyranny without the option of surrender.”
NEW: Per ICE source, David DePape, the suspect accused of beating Paul Pelosi in his home with a hammer after breaking in, is currently in the U.S. illegally as a “longtime” visa overstay. @FoxNews
The affidavit says that DePape used a hammer to break through a glass door at the home and then surprised Pelosi in bed. Pelosi was able to call 911 and, when police arrived, they saw them grappling for a single hammer. DePape then struck Pelosi over the head with it in front of officers.
An older picture of Depape, a Canadian-born resident of Berkeley with a history of drug use, showed him alongside a prominent Berkeley nudist activist with whom he helped raise children. She is incarcerated after being convicted in the stalking of a teenage boy. This photo also emerged of the suspect:
What we know about David DePape, suspect in Paul Pelosi attack
“This was not a random act. This was intentional. And it’s wrong,” Chief Bill Scott said in a news conference, noting that elected officials’ families “don’t sign up for this. … Everybody should be disgusted about what happened this morning.” He praised a dispatcher as a hero for sensing more was going on than Paul Pelosi said in the 911 call; he was talking in “code,” CNN reported.
NEW stmt from @SpeakerPelosi spox: Paul Pelosi “underwent successful surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands. His doctors expect a full recovery.” –>
Both men were transported to a hospital for treatment, Scott said. Depape was booked on attempted homicide, elderly abuse, burglary and other charges, Scott said.
On a WordPress blog, Depape ranted about censorship by the “elites” and “ruling class.” He also appears to have a website that reads “da Jews.” Hours before the attack he posted the headline, “Why Colleges are becoming Cults.” He ranted about movies, writing, “The critics are f****** commie gate keepers. They love the s******** movies ever as long as those movies are s***** because they where.”
Some of his posts referred to former President Donald Trump. “Either Q is Trump himself or Q is the deepstate moles within Trumps inner circle. So Q/Trump sabotaged their child trafficking operations. #2 self inflicted wound. Trumps covert id or a Deep state mole? Was Q refering to this? Did Q do this? another video,” he wrote, referring to QAnon. Some videos on his website show Pelosi.
In another post, he wrote, “The more Ukrainians die NEEDLESSLY the cheaper the land will be for Jews to buy up.” His website has posts on pedophiles, aliens, COVID, Communism, Kanye West, Derek Chauvin, what he called “climate hysteria” and more. It is filled with conspiracy theories and other ramblings. He also had a Facebook page, but it was taken down.
His name was also given as David DePape, with different capitalization. Dramatic accounts emerged indicating that the suspect was specifically looking for Nancy Pelosi when he encountered her husband in the couple’s home.
“Suspect who authorities say attacked Paul Pelosi shouted ‘Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?’ before the ‘violent assault,'” according to CNN anchor Victor Blackwell. The suspect specifically targeted the Pelosi house, the Associated Press confirmed.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. David Depape, Described as ‘Very Odd,’ Is a ‘Former Castro Nudist Protester’ & Hemp ‘Jewelry Maker’ Who Once Lived in a Berkeley Storage Shed, Reports Say
My sources also name the suspect in this morning’s hammer attack on Paul Pelosi as David DePape, born 1980, of Berkeley.
He would appear to be a former Castro nudist protester.
Things appear set to be bizarre for a while.
Joe Eskenazi, of Mission Local, tweeted, “My sources also name the suspect in this morning’s hammer attack on Paul Pelosi as David DePape, born 1980, of Berkeley. He would appear to be a former Castro nudist protester. Things appear set to be bizarre for a while.”
The Castro is a well-known neighborhood in San Francisco. The term in this context does not refer to the Cuban dictator.
A 2013 article in the San Francisco Chronicle mentions Depape, although his name is spelled incorrectly. It describes him as a “hemp jewelry maker.” That article reported that Depape was the best man at the naked wedding of a well-known pro-nudity activist named Gypsy Taub.
Linda Schneider, who has known Depape for years, told CNN that he once lived in a storage unit and had done hard drugs. She later received “really disturbing” emails where Depape sounded like a “megalomaniac and so out of touch with reality,” she told the cable news network. She stopped communicating with him “because it seemed so dangerous,” adding to CNN that he used “Biblical justification to do harm.”
Laura Hayes worked with Depape making hemp bracelets years ago.
“He was very odd. He didn’t make eye contact very well,” Hayes said to CNN, adding that he told her “he talks to angels and there will be a hard time coming.”
The statement by Drew Hammill, spokesman for Nancy Pelosi, calls the attack a “violent assault.” According to the Associated Press, Pelosi, 82, “suffered blunt force trauma to his head and body,” that left him with “bruising, severe swelling and other injuries.”
Nancy Pelosi was not at the home when the attack occurred.
KTVU-TV reported, “UPDATE: @SpeakerPelosi was w/her protective detail in DC when husband Paul Pelosi, 82, was assaulted during 2:30 a.m. break-in at their home in SF’s Pacific Heights.” The television station reported that Capitol Police are working with the FBI and the San Francisco Police Department.
TMZ obtained dispatch audio of the police response to the Pelosi home. “He states there is a male in the home and that he is going to wait for his wife. He stated that he doesn’t know who the male is but that his name is David and that he is a friend. He sounded somewhat confused,” the dispatcher told an officer.
The San Francisco Chronicle confirmed that audio is real but wrote, “The dispatcher was relaying that DePape — not Paul Pelosi — had “advised that his name is David and that he is a friend.”
Pelosi spoke in code and said: “What’s going on? Why are you here? What are you doing to me?” alerting the dispatcher that something was wrong, according to TMZ, which published the audio here.
The suspect threatened to tie Pelosi up, CNN reported.
According to Politico, Pelosi made the secret 911 call after telling Depape he needed to use the bathroom. His phone was charging in the bathroom.
According to CNN, threats against lawmakers and their family are on the rise.
KTVU-TV initially reported that Depape was in his underwear when arrested but then removed the detail and added a correction saying they misstated what he was wearing. However, that rumor, with no other evidence, still spread like wildfire online. We fact check it here. He had a list of other politicians he wanted to target, the television station reported.
2. Depape Has Helped Raise 3 Children With Taub, a Now-Incarcerated Russian-Born Activist Who Has Worked as a Homeless Youth Director, Old Newspaper Articles Reveal
A 2008 article in the Oakland Tribune, accessed via Newspapers.com, reported that David Depape and Gypsy Taub have three children together. Instead of cooking Thanksgiving dinner in their Berkeley home, they “chose to join 350 others at the Two Star Market for a community meal,” the article stated.
However, it’s not clear whether there’s a biological relationship between Depape and the children, and elsewhere Depape is referred to as a father figure.
“We like to meet our neighbors,” Taub, a pro-nudity activist, told the newspaper.
According to The New York Post, DePape was “living in a dilapidated yellow school bus on the street in front of” Taub’s home in Berkeley. “A Black Lives Matter sign and a flag combining pot-leaf symbols and the LGBTQ rainbow decorate the debris-strewn property. Out front, an unpainted wooden fence sports a hand-lettered sign: ‘News Reporters Go Away,'” the Post recounted.
Despite her naked wedding to someone else, the Daily Beast reported that Depape still lived with Taub. The site reported that he also posted COVID conspiracy theories on YouTube. However, in 2021, Taub was convicted of serious crimes after being accused of stalking a teenage boy.
She is currently incarcerated at the California Institution for Women, according to VINE LINK. Her real name is Oxane Taub.
Taub’s Facebook page says she is from Moscow, Russia, and is “the homeless youth director at Jerry Garcia Family Healing Clinic.” There is no indication that Taub has any connection to the Paul Pelosi attack. Taub has told the media she believes 9/11 was an inside job, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.
In 2013, in an article on Indy Bay.org, Taub mentioned Depape as a photographer at a nudity ban protest in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood.
After receiving a 911 call from Paul Pelosi and being dispatched on an “A-priority wellbeing check” in the early morning hours of October 28, 2022, San Francisco police officers encountered an “adult male and [Nancy] Pelosi’s husband, Paul” in the Pelosi home, Chief Bill Scott said in a news conference.
Scott said in a later news conference that when officers arrived and knocked on the door of the Pelosi home, the door was opened “by someone inside.” Officers observed Pelosi and Depape inside the entryway of the home. The officers remained outside of the home’s threshold. They observed both men, each “with one hand on a single hammer.” Officers gave commands to both men to drop the hammer. Depape pulled the hammer away from Pelosi and “violently attacked him with the hammer,” Scott said. Pelosi was struck at least one time. Officers entered and tackled the suspect and took him into custody. He said that Depape “forced entry” through a rear door of the Pelosi home.
3. David Depape Wrote a Blog Called ‘Welcome to Big Brothers Censorship Hell’ & Posted About Trump & Kanye West on a Website
David Depape BlogDepape blog
On a WordPress blog, Depape ranted about censorship. “Welcome to Big Brothers Censorship hell,” it reads.
The blog says:
The reason we have a first amendment is because censorship only applies to you. The elites/ruling class never censor themselves. You can still turn on any mainstream news channel to hear day and night the narrative put forth by the people who rule you. The founding father built in protection against censorship coming from the goverment because they never imagined a day when Tech giants and private industry would be so powerful they could single handedly silence the people.
The blog contains numerous black graphics with the word “censorship” stamped in them.
He also posted about what the government “disinformation board,” although he misspelled the word.
“3:32 They intervene when the disinfo becomes a THREAT to national security. I would say that the steele dosier was disinfo that was a threat to national security. Why didn’t they arrest the staff of cnn, new york times, washington post and msnbc for their DANGEROUS disniformation?” his website post reads, filled with typos.
“Instead they actually PASSED a bill to SPEND millions of tax payer dollars FUNDING the disinfomation.”
In a few posts on his website, Depape mentioned Trump. Depape wrote on his website, “I guess this is as good a time as any. Trump you NEEEEEEEED to make Tulsi your VP in 2024. Of the ENTIRE democrat presidential candidates in 2020. She was th only democrat candidate who WASN’T running on a platform of being an insane mentally unwell demagogue…Having Tulsy as your vp bridges the insane partisan divide.”
He also posted about Kanye West, writing, “Ya I remeber the backlash and insults when you came out in support of Trump.”
Depape websiteA post on Depape’s website.
He wrote, “Trump ‘Just drink Bleach’ So first off this was an extremely manipulate way of spinning what he actually Trump said ‘drink bleach.’ This isn’t an isolate incident either.”
Depape also weighed in on George Floyd, writing, “Lets get into George Floyd before I forget. What’s the difference between justice and a lynching. Justice is based upon evidence. While lynchings are based upon optics.” He claimed that Floyd was not killed by Police Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee, writing, “The autopsy showed a FATAL level of fentynal in his system and that he had died of a heart attack consistent with the symptoms he was exhibiting prior to being placed on the ground.”
He added: “The only person who is owed damages is Derek Chauvin.” Searches of the website for Pelosi, Clinton and Obama did not turn up results.
Depape also had a Facebook page where he posted conspiracy theories, but it was taken down.
According to CNN, David Depape “posted links on his Facebook page to multiple videos produced by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell falsely alleging that the 2020 election was stolen.”
He also posted “transphobic images and linked to websites claiming Covid-19 vaccines were deadly.”
One of his Facebook posts read: “The death rates being promoted are what ever ‘THEY’ want to be promoted as the death rate,” CNN reported.
DePape also posted links to YouTube videos called “Democrat FARCE Commission to Investigate January 6th Capitol Riot COLLAPSES in Congress!!!” and “Global Elites Plan To Take Control Of YOUR Money! (Revealed),” reported CNN.
4. Depape, Who Was Born in British Columbia, Is Accused of Entering the Pelosi Home Through a Sliding Glass Door Looking for Nancy Pelosi, Reports Say
BREAKING — @SpeakerPelosi’s husband was “violently assaulted” in the couple’s San Francisco home, her office says.
Depape grew up in Powell River, British Columbia, CNN reported. He moved to California 20 years ago “to pursue a relationship,” the network reported.
“I really don’t know what to think,” the suspect’s uncle, Mark DePape, said to CNN of the Pelosi allegations. “Hopefully it’s a scam. I don’t want to hear something like that.”
CNN reported that Depape was not on authorities’ radar; he was not in threat databases or known to Capitol Police.
According to ABC’s Terry Moran, “The suspect allegedly entered the house through a sliding glass door, carrying a hammer, and was apparently looking for the House Speaker herself.” Paul Pelosi’s injuries were described as “significant” by Moran.
San Francisco police tweeted, “On 10/28/22, at 2:27 am, SFPD responded to the 2600 block of Broadway for a home break-in. During the incident an 82 y/o male was attacked. The suspect was taken into custody. The victim was transported to a local hospital. SFPD Chief Scott will address the media at police HQ.”
“Early this morning, an assailant broke into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco and violently assaulted Mr. Pelosi. The assailant is in custody and the motivation for the attack is under investigation,” it reads.
VIDEO: Over the home of Speaker Nancy Pelosi – shows a shattered window – where the suspect who broke into the home and attacked Paul Pelosi may have gotten in.
Story here: t.co/cc78vzvAkQ
@KPIXtv #kpix #NancyPelosi
The Speaker’s spokesman first revealed the assault in a Friday morning statement. According to Pelosi’s office, Paul Pelosi “underwent successful surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands. His doctors expect a full recovery.”
The motive, including whether the assault was politically related, is not yet clear. But authorities emphasized again that the attack was not random.
In a statement, the U.S. Capitol Police wrote:
The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is assisting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the San Francisco Police with a joint investigation into a break-in at the California home of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The Speaker was in Washington, D.C. with her protective detail at the time of the overnight, break-in.
During the California break-in, the Speaker’s husband was assaulted, but he is now recovering.
The San Francisco Police Department has the suspect in custody. The motivation for the attack is still under investigation.
Special Agents with the USCP’s California Field Office quickly arrived on scene, while a team of investigators from the Department’s Threat Assessment Section was simultaneously dispatched from the East Coast to assist the FBI and the San Francisco Police with a joint investigation.
5. Paul Pelosi Was ‘Taken to the Hospital’ but Is Expected to Recover
GettySpeaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul Pelosi.
According to the statement, Paul Pelosi is expected to recover, but he was hospitalized due to the attack.
“Mr. Pelosi was taken to the hospital, where he is receiving excellent medical are and is expected to make a full recovery. The Speaker was not in San Francisco at the time.”
The statement added: “The Speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time.”
News of the attack broke in the early morning of October 28, 2022.
According to CNN, there is not government security at the Pelosi residence when she is not there.
GettyPaul Pelosi
Paul Pelosi is a successful businessman with a very high net worth.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Paul Pelosi “has a net worth of $120 million.”
The site says that Pelosi “is best known for owning and operating the San Francisco-based real estate and venture capital investment and consulting firm Financial Leasing Services.”
He once owned a United Football League team. He “sits on many corporate and philanthropic boards and owns large stakes in companies like Facebook, Apple, Comcast and Disney,” Celebrity Net Worth reported.
According to his IMDb profile, Paul Pelosi was born on April 15, 1940, in San Francisco, California.
“He has been married to Nancy Pelosi since September 7, 1963,” the site reports.
Paul Pelosi has been in the news recently because of a drunken driving arrest.
According to the Associated Press, the Speaker’s husband pleaded guilty in August 2022 “to misdemeanor driving under the influence charges related to a May crash in California’s wine country.”
He received a five-day jail term and probation, AP reported.
According to AP, authorities “found Pelosi in the driver’s seat of a 2021 Porsche Carrera and the other driver standing outside a sport utility vehicle.”