The defense attorney for David DePape, the man accused of attacking Nancy Pelosi’s husband in 2022, began her opening statements with a litany of DePape’s conspiracy theories on the first day of his federal trial, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Jodi Linker, the defense attorney for the case, claimed that DePape had based all of his alleged actions on ideas surrounding Hunter Biden’s corruption, Tom Hanks, George Soros and an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan, according to the Chronicle. Although DePape entered a “not guilty” plea in 2022, Linker did not attempt to deny the alleged attacker’s actions and even said that DePape will “have to live with” his actions for the “rest of his life.” (RELATED: Paul Pelosi Attack Footage Released)
“This is not a whodunit,” Linker said at the trial, according to the Chronicle. “But what the government fails to acknowledge is the ‘whydunit’ — and the why matters.”
TODAY: The trial for the man charged in the attack on #PaulPelosi begins. David DePape pled not guilty to federal assault & attempted kidnapping. It’s been just over 1 year since cameras captured DePape breaking into the home of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. #abc7news @courtart pic.twitter.com/jMGggO5YcB
— Stephanie Sierra (@StephanieABC7) November 9, 2023
DePape allegedly broke into Pelosi’s home on Oct. 28, 2022, while armed with a hammer and plastic zip ties. When DePape could not find Pelosi, he allegedly assaulted Pelosi’s husband, Paul, with the hammer and beat him until he lay unconscious in a pool of his own blood.
Linker claimed that DePape had allegedly attacked Paul because he wanted to kidnap Pelosi to use as a pawn to take down the government and its “lies,” according to the Chronicle. DePape allegedly had an entire list of “targets,” including actor Tom Hanks, who he believed had “raped a 13-year-old girl.”
“The lies are insane,” DePape told police officers when he was initially taken in for questioning. “People in Washington. It originates with Hillary. Honestly, day in and day out, the person on TV lying every day was [Nancy] Pelosi. It’s fucking insane the crime spree the Democrats have been on, persecuting the rival campaign.”
DePape has allegedly struggled with mental health and drug abuse issues for years, and believed “he was Jesus for a year,” according to his ex-girlfriend. Acquaintances also said that the alleged attacker seemed “out of touch with reality” and had delusions that he could communicate with angels.
“Members of the jury, many of us do not believe any of that. You may think it is all lies,” Linker said of DePape’s alleged delusions, the Chronicle reported. “But the evidence in this trial will show that Mr. DePape believes all these, these things… with every ounce of his being.”
DePape is facing a slew of charges including attempted murder and first-degree burglary, according to the Chronicle. If found guilty, DePape could receive life imprisonment for his alleged actions.
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