OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 12:42 PM PT – Wednesday, November 2, 2022
The man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi pleads not guilty to multiple charges, including attempted murder.
David DePape, 42, from Richmond, California, entered the plea on Tuesday during his first court appearance in San Francisco.
In a court filing, prosecutors alleged that DePape was on a “suicide mission” and had other intentions to target other state and federal politicians alongside their families. An FBI affidavit revealed that DePape carried a zip-tie, rope and tape with the intention of kidnapping House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
DePape is being charged with attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder and threats to a public official and their family.
Ahead of the hearing, San Francisco’s District Attorney Brooke Jennings said that the attack was politically motivated.
“As leaders and as citizens, it is incumbent upon us all to watch the words that we say and to turn down the volume of our political rhetoric,” Jennings said. “We should be able to all engage in passionate political discourse but still remain respectful of one another. Violence certainly has no place in San Francisco or in politics.”
The judge has ordered DePape to remain in jail without bond as he waits to be arraigned on federal charges.