SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 1, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The man accused of attacking US
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband was charged on Monday with attempted
murder and attempted kidnapping of a public official, with the assault now
described by a lead prosecutor as politically motivated.

Suspect David DePape of California was arrested early Friday morning after he
allegedly broke into Pelosi's San Francisco mansion, intending to tie up the
powerful politician and break her kneecaps with a hammer if she did not
confess to Democratic "lies," the US Justice Department said in a court
filing.

DePape had tape, rope, zip ties and other materials with him, the Justice
Department said, but he found only Pelosi's husband Paul, whom he attacked,
hitting him in the head with a hammer.

Federal authorities on Monday charged DePape, 42, with attempting to kidnap a
US official and assaulting her family member over her actions in her job.

Hours later, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced a slew
of new state charges that she said include "attempted murder, residential
burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an
elder as well as threats to a public official and their family."

If convicted on the state charges, DePape would face 13 years to life in
prison, according to Jenkins.

She said the state and federal prosecutions will move forward in parallel,
and that her office will seek to have DePape detained without bail when he is
arraigned on Tuesday.

In a court affidavit, the FBI said DePape told them after his arrest that he
viewed Nancy Pelosi as responsible for lies told by her Democratic Party.

He intended to hold Pelosi -- who is second in line to the US presidency
after the vice president -- hostage and talk to her, the affidavit said.

"If Nancy were to tell DePape the 'truth,' he would let her go, and if she
'lied,' he was going to break 'her kneecaps,'" the affidavit said.

Nancy Pelosi was not in San Francisco at the time of the attack.

Awakened by the break-in, Paul Pelosi dialed the 911 emergency number and
meanwhile conversed with DePape, seeking to keep the situation calm until
police arrived.

But when police came on the scene the two struggled over a hammer and DePape
smashed Paul Pelosi's head with it, leaving him unconscious, according to the
affidavit.

Police subdued DePape and Pelosi, 82, was sent to a hospital where he
underwent emergency surgery for a skull fracture and serious injuries to his
right arm and hands.

DePape later told authorities that Paul Pelosi was "taking the punishment
instead" of his wife, given her absence.

Nancy Pelosi said late Monday that her family has been deluged with thousands
of messages of concern and warm wishes, and while a recovery was expected for
her husband, she stressed he faced an extensive rehabilitation.

"Thanks to the excellent trauma care medical team at Zuckerberg San Francisco
General Hospital, Paul is making steady progress on what will be a long
recovery process."

- Heightened tensions -

The assault and attempted kidnapping came amid heightened political tensions
ahead of the November 8 midterm elections, with Democrats expected to lose
their majority in the Pelosi-led House of Representatives.

Asked about the motivations for the violence, District Attorney Jenkins said
that based on DePape's statements, and his remarks made in the Pelosi home,
"this was politically motivated."

On Friday, before details of the Pelosi attack were known, US security
officials expressed concerns in a pre-election intelligence bulletin that
disinformation could foment attacks by extremists.

DePape, who lived in a garage in nearby Richmond, California, was not a known
extremist, but had in recent months posted and reposted unfounded claims that
elections had been rigged, that climate science and Covid vaccines were
bogus, that the Holocaust was fake, and other conspiracy theories.

Inti Gonzalez, whose mother was DePape's partner for several years, said he
had mental health issues and had recently turned to right-wing plot-
mongering.

In addition to the state attempted murder charge, the federal kidnapping
charge brings up to 20 years in prison and the assault charge a maximum of 30
years in prison.