David DePape, the man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi, took the stand to testify in his trial on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.
DePape is accused of attacking Paul Pelosi on Oct. 28, 2022, after he allegedly broke into the man’s home to kidnap his wife, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to unravel what he believed was a massive government conspiracy. DePape spoke for over an hour about why he allegedly did the attacks, claiming that he did not mean to hurt Paul and that he couldn’t remember most of what happened, the AP reported. (RELATED: Paul Pelosi Attack Footage Released)
“When he was on the ground breathing, I was really scared for his life,” DePape testified, according to KTVU Fox 2. “And later in the hospital, I felt really bad for him because we had a really good rapport and things were going good until the last second.”
DePape now being asked by the defense why these people were on his “target list” how he got their addresses, etc. He talked at length about researching Tom Hanks. DePape again got overwhelmed during this part of the testimony, sobbed a short while. @nbcbayarea
— Candice Nguyen (@CandiceNguyenTV) November 14, 2023
DePape’s defense attorneys argued that he had allegedly attacked Paul Pelosi because he had delusional beliefs about the government and politicians. DePape expanded on his political views while taking the stand, and claimed that he was a liberal until he read a comment about former President Donald Trump on YouTube, according to the AP.
DePape said that he planned to kidnap Nancy Pelosi, wear an inflatable unicorn costume and interview her about how Russia had meddled in the 2016 election, the AP reported. DePape also claimed that he had only lashed out at Paul because Nancy was not at home at the time of the alleged attack.
“I reacted because my plan was basically ruined,” DePape said, according to KTVU. “He was never my target and I’m sorry he got hurt.”
“I recall hitting him once,” he added. “The medical report says he was probably hit more, but I only recall once.”
DePape said that he had targeted Nancy Pelosi because she was the House Speaker, and claimed that some of his other future targets included Tom Hanks, Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Hunter Biden and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to KTVU. He said he just wanted Pelosi and his other targets to admit their corruption and planned for President Joe Biden to pardon them all after they confessed, the AP reported.
“It’s just easier giving them a pardon so we can move forward as a country,” DePape said while crying, according to the AP.
DePape has pleaded not guilty to all of the federal charges brought against him, including attempted murder and first-degree burglary. If found guilty, he could receive a sentence of life in prison.
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