Paul Pelosi’s attacker, David DePape, took two unicorn costumes to his victim’s mansion before killing him with a hammer, a court has heard.
David DePape, a former nudist from Canada, entered the Pelosi compound in San Francisco through a back door in the early hours of October 28, 2022 and struck former House Speaker Nancy Paul’s 82-year-old husband.
The attack – which DePape’s defense attorney has admitted he committed – resulted in Paul Pelosi being hospitalized with a fractured skull.
In court in San Francisco on Monday, authorities shared records of DePape’s Amazon purchases in the months before the attacks, including a list of items he reportedly took to the crime scene.
This included everything from a camping backpack, computer cables, body cameras, crayons and, oddly enough, two scary unicorn costumes.
Prosecutors played a recording of a call DePage later made to a news reporter that said, “I have an important message for everyone in America. You’re welcome.”
David DePape (left) listens as Jason Matthes, who works for Spokeo, shows a search DePape conducted before the attack
David DePape didn’t bat an eyelid when he viewed body camera footage of himself with Paul Pelosi at the Pelosi home in San Francisco
He then spoke about the need for more patriots and apologized: “I didn’t get more from them.”
On Monday, he watched without batting an eye as prosecutors played police body camera footage of the attack.
DePape sat quietly with two defense attorneys at the table to the left as prosecutors called witnesses to lay out the case.
He leaned back in a brown leather chair with his arms folded and watched the statement. He wore a blue sweater over a blue shirt, was clean-shaven, and had his hair pulled back in a ponytail.
Prosecutors presented graphic footage of the gavel attack, showing an officer with a flashlight confronting DePape and Pelosi in the doorway.
As the two argue, DePape raises his gavel and hits Pelosi over the head, causing him to fall to the ground three times.
In another video, blood was seen pouring from Pelosi’s head and his hands were soaked red as paramedics tended to him.
An audible gasp could be heard in the courtroom, but DePape appeared unfazed. He blinked a few times but remained silent, leaning forward as he watched the video playing on the laptop in front of him.
A courtroom sketch shows DePape listening to an official from Spokeo, a people search website, testify about his search history.
Jason Matthes, who works for Spokeo, testified briefly that he searched Pelosi’s home and other locations in Hollywood and Sacramento before the attack.
FBI Special Agent Stephanie Minor testified that she reviewed a number of web activities found on DePape’s hard drive, including a series of searches related to Nancy Pelosi in the days before the attack.
He repeatedly searched Spokeo for her home address in San Francisco, looked for information about her biography, and also researched some previous news stories about other people who had targeted her home.
Minor noticed a search on for a story about a YouTuber who filmed himself defecating on Pelosi’s driveway, and other Google searches for “Pelosi Pig Blood” about vandalism on her Plot with a pig’s head and fake blood went.
Images of Pelosi’s garage, shown as part of the coverage of this incident, were stored on DePape’s hard drive.
Minor testified that about 50 video surveillance cameras captured DePape’s frightening drive to carry out the hammer attack.
He was seen dragging two backpacks and the sleeping bag, which were later recovered by authorities.
One shows multiple camera angles of him going through the turnstile at the Bay Area Rapid Transit station at El Cerrito Plaza. In some cases, some timestamps are incorrect because security cameras have not adjusted to daylight savings time.
Other shots show DePape, wearing a long-sleeved top and cargo shorts, boarding a train at the station before it departs and then sitting inside with his feet propped on his bag.
He is then seen standing on a platform at MacArthur Station waiting for a transfer, boarding another train to the Civic Center/UN Plaza, taking the ride, and arriving at the station.
DePape’s lawyers argue that he is not guilty of the charges because he did not go after Nancy Pelosi to prevent her from carrying out her official duties
Police body cameras captured the moment DePape knocked down Paul Pelosi (right), fracturing his skull and sending him to the hospital for a week
He was then seen boarding a San Francisco Muni bus and later getting off at North Point Street and Van Ness Avenue.
Video footage from U.S. Capitol Police shows DePape, appearing as a shadowy figure, walking briskly on a sidewalk toward the Pelosi residence, then entering through a gate in clearer view and walking back to the back terrace.
He was then seen repeatedly smashing a glass window with an object, breaking into the property.
Paul Pelosi is expected to testify in the trial and recount the night the man broke into his San Francisco home and fractured his skull.
Prosecutors said DePape previously admitted breaking into the residence with the intention of getting the senior Democrat to buy into her party’s “lies” or else he would shatter her kneecaps.
Finding only her then 82-year-old husband at home, he had what he told officers was a “pretty friendly” exchange during which Paul Pelosi managed to call for help.
DePape has pleaded not guilty to charges of burglary and attempted murder, and a federal trial is underway.
He struggles with drugs and posts crazy COVID conspiracy theories, anti-Semitic slurs, racist slurs, and unhinged quips about religion online.
In her opening statement, defense attorney Jodi Linker said she would not deny that her client attacked Paul Pelosi, an encounter that was captured on police body camera video.
The footage appears to show DePape bludgeoning Pelosi with a hammer before officers attack him and take the gun away.
Pelosi fell unconscious and spent nearly a week in the hospital, where he underwent surgery to repair a fractured skull.
Instead, his lawyer will argue that he believes “with all my heart” that he is taking action to stop government corruption and the abuse of children by politicians and actors.
Linker argues that DePape is not guilty of the charges because he did not go after Nancy Pelosi to stop her from carrying out her official duties.
DePape wore a light blue shirt and dark blue sweater during jury selection
A screenshot of security footage shows DePape outside the Pelosi House in the early morning hours of October 28, 2022
Paul Pelosi was struck multiple times with the gavel and remained unconscious as officers rushed in and arrested DePape
Aerial footage showed broken windows and shattered glass at the back door of Pelosi’s home
“These convictions are important because both counts require the government to prove that Mr. DePape acted in the performance of his official duties as a member of Congress,” Linker said.
She said DePape’s beliefs were “entirely independent of Nancy Pelosi’s official duties.”
When police arrested DePape, they found a manifesto containing anti-government beliefs and a list of other politicians he wanted to target.
He has posted tirades about aliens, communists, religious minorities and global elites on a blog and an online forum.
He questioned the results of the 2020 election and reiterated the baseless, right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims the U.S. government is run by a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles. The websites were deleted shortly after his arrest.
He also pleaded not guilty in state court to attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other crimes.
A state trial is not planned.