Federal prosecutors say the man accused of attacking the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer told police he wanted to hold the speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps”.
Federal prosecutors say the man accused of attacking the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer told police he wanted to hold the speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps”.
David DePape wanted to show other members of Congress there were “consequences to actions”, authorities said on Monday.
In a federal complaint, officials say the 42-year-old was carrying zip ties and tape in a backpack when he broke into the couple’s San Francisco home early on Friday morning before going upstairs where 82-year-old Paul Pelosi was sleeping and demanded to talk to “Nancy”.
When Mr Pelosi told the intruder she was not there, DePape said he would wait — even after being told she would not be home for some days, it said.
“This house and the speaker herself were specifically targets,” San Francisco district attorney Brooke Jenkins said at a Monday evening news conference announcing state charges against DePape, including attempted murder.
“This was politically motivated,” Ms Jenkins said. She implored the public to “watch the words that we say and to turn down the volume of our political rhetoric”.
Investigators believe DePape had been researching in advance to target Pelosi, Ms Jenkins said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“This was not something that he did at the spur of the moment,” she said.
