Washington
CNN
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The US Capitol Police first learned of the break-in at the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco about 10 minutes after the incident when an officer activated police lights and sirens on a live camera feed at the Capitol Police Command Center in Washington, DC noted. According to a source briefed on the attack.
CNN previously reported that there may be video of the break-in for U.S. Capitol Police and law enforcement to review, as there are security cameras in the home, according to two law enforcement sources.
According to two other sources, the San Francisco Police Department stopped regularly stationing a squad car outside Pelosi’s home last year.
The Washington Post first reported the additional details of how Capitol Police became aware of the attack.
The revelation comes on the same day that a court filing revealed that the man accused of violently assaulting Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, told authorities he was on a “suicide mission.” and have plans to target other officers.
David DePape, 42, told officers and medics at the scene that he was sick of the “level of lies” from Washington, DC, and “came down to have a little chat with his wife,” the filing says. “I didn’t really mean to hurt him, but you know that was a suicide squad. I will not stand here and do nothing, even if it costs me my life.”
DePape named several targets, the filing said, including prominent state and federal politicians and their families.
The document contains the most detailed account yet of last week’s attack on Paul Pelosi, which has sparked new concerns about anti-legislative violence. Federal law enforcement agencies have consistently warned of the increasing threat of politically motivated violence after January 6, 2021, raising particular concerns about the likelihood that online incitement to violence will lead to real attacks.
According to court records, DePape “smashed a window in a back door of the Pelosi home while searching for” the House Speaker and “startled” 82-year-old Paul Pelosi, who was asleep in only a pajama top and boxer shorts .
“Are you Paul Pelosi?” asked DePape, who according to the file was standing over Pelosi’s bed around 2 a.m., before repeating, “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?’
Pelosi, who was described in the filing as “still dazed,” told the suspect, “She’s not here,” before saying his wife is in Washington and “won’t be coming back for a few days.”
“Okay, fine, I’ll tie you up,” DePape said, according to the filing.
At one point during the incident, Paul Pelosi asked DePape why he wanted to see Nancy Pelosi. “Well, she’s number two in the presidency, right?” DePape said, according to the filing.
When Paul Pelosi agreed, DePape reportedly said, “We’ve got to take them all out.”
DePape also said he knew, according to the filing, that security cameras were everywhere, but that he intended to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and break her kneecaps if she lied to him.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tuesday night that after reviewing police bodycam footage of the attack, he believes the suspect intended to kill Paul Pelosi.
“What’s crystal clear to me is that he tried to kill Mr. Pelosi,” Scott said on Anderson Cooper 360.
Pelosi appears to have been hit by DePape’s hammer at least once, as seen on police bodycam footage, but investigators are working to determine if he was hit more than that, Scott said. From the moment the door opened to DePape being attacked, it happened in about three seconds and was a “very rapid succession of events” that was quickly stopped, he said.
Evidence also showed that the incident was clearly a burglary, the police chief said.
Pelosi’s 911 call lasted about three minutes, the boss added, and he was able to subtly identify himself to the dispatcher, who was then able to escalate the call.
“At the end of the day she found out and upped the priority of the call because she didn’t think that matched what Mr. Pelosi reported, there was more to it,” Scott said. “I’ll say it again, I think she’s capable of figuring it out and Mr. Pelosi is keeping his sanity. He was heroic and the dispatcher who found out there was more was heroic too.”
Earlier Tuesday, DePape entered a plea of not guilty to all state charges in a first court appearance. He was charged with a number of crimes including assault, attempted murder and attempted kidnapping.
He also waived his right to a 10-day hearing at his arraignment in a San Francisco courtroom. Judge Diane Northway has scheduled a hearing for Friday in the San Francisco Superior Court to set a date for the preliminary hearing and bail setting.
He has not yet filed a lawsuit in federal court.
DePape’s attorney, Adam Lipson, told the courtroom Tuesday, “There was a lot of speculation, a lot of rumor, simply because of the nature of this case. So I’m not going to add to all the speculation by now discussing the facts of this case.”
“What I want to say is that there has been a lot of speculation about Mr. DePape’s susceptibility to misinformation and we will certainly look at that and we will look into it as his defense team, but again that would be premature to talk about ‘ Lipson said.
Members of the Pelosi family are expected to be able to hear the audio of Paul Pelosi’s 911 call to police and see body camera footage of officers responding to the home the night of the attack, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.