Suspect in attack on Pelosi’s husband pleads not guilty in San Francisco court

The man accused of attacking the United States senior politician and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, has pleaded not guilty on charges including attempt to murder and so on, in a San Francisco court, on Tuesday. This was the suspect’s first court appearance since the incident took place on Friday.

The accused, David Wayne DePape’s attorney and San Francisco deputy public defender, Adam Lipson, speaking to the reporters outside the court said that there are a number of factors that need to be accounted for in his client’s defence ranging from his “vulnerability” to “political misinformation” and mental state.

Also Read |Who is David DePape, Paul Pelosi's alleged attacker?

Following the hearing, Judge Diane Northway of the Superior Court in San Francisco also denied DePape bail, who is also to remain in custody at least until a formal detention hearing is held.

According to reports, DePape has been arraigned under the charges of attempted murder, assault, burglary, elder abuse, false imprisonment and threatening a US official. Court documents show that he was planning to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and break her “her kneecaps” if she “lied” to him.

The court filings also said that the prosecutors detailed the attack and said that DePape’s intention “could not have been clearer.” The San Francisco District Attorney, Brooke Jenkins in the document wrote about how the accused “forced his way into the Pelosi home” with the intention to take House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage who is third in line to the presidency, to “seriously harm her”.

The prosecutors have also called for a prison sentence of 13 years to life, based on the state charges while DePape’s attorney, Lipson said, “we deny the allegations.” The court filing also said that DePape allegedly told officers and first responders that was done with the “lies coming out of Washington DC” and that he didn’t want to hurt Paul Pelosi but was on a “suicide mission”.

The attack against 82-year-old Paul Pelosi took place before dawn on Friday, when an intruder looking for the Speaker, who was in Washington DC at the time, instead confronted her husband who was eventually able to call the police, said an FBI affidavit filed in federal court, a day prior to the hearing.

It added that when the police arrived minutes later, they saw the two struggling with the hammer after which the intruder grabbed the hammer and hit Pelosi with it over the head. Notably, the federal prosecutors charged DePape separately with assault and attempted kidnapping which if convicted he can face up to 50 years in prison, the hearing for which is pending. According to the prosecutor, the assault was also caught on the police officers’ body cameras.

(With inputs from agencies)

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