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David DePape claims he was on mission to root out corruption when he broke into Pelosi residence

DePape said he believed a cabal of politicians and progressive thinkers were harming children and threatening the rights of Americans.

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — On the third day of his trial, David DePape broke into tears multiple times when he took the stand in his own defense on Tuesday and told the jury his motivations for breaking into former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home last October.

After breaking in, DePape is accused of hitting Pelosi's husband, Paul, three times with a hammer, fracturing his skull. His lawyers admitted that he is the attacker but DePape pleaded not guilty. Paul Pelosi testified on Monday.

DePape said that he had a plan to root out corruption in America. He intended to travel the country kidnapping politicians and progressive thinkers, including Nancy Pelosi, Gavin Newsom and Hunter Biden. He said listening to podcasts led him to believe a cabal of elites ran the country and were trampling on the rights of Americans.

He was originally a leftist, he explained, but he changed his views when he felt the mainstream media was smearing former President Donald Trump.

On cross examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Vartain Horn did not ask about his beliefs. Instead, she just asked him to confirm that he looked up information about Nancy Pelosi and broke into her home.

DePape admitted to all of it.

The night of the attack, DePape said he intended to tie up Nancy Pelosi and interrogate her on video while he wore a Spooktacular branded unicorn costume that was found in his backpack at the scene. He said he wanted to post the video to his website, which contained right-wing conspiracy theories.

DePape intended to ask Nancy to explain her claims that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. He insisted to public defender Angela Chuang that he would have let her go if she told him the truth.

If not, he said he was going to “break her kneecap,” so she would need a wheelchair to roam the halls of Congress. The attack was not in response to any piece of legislation that Pelosi supported; he intended to kidnap her because she lies, DePape said.

DePape said the attempted kidnapping also had another purpose — he intended to use Nancy Pelosi’s influence to lure a college professor to the home.  DePape said the professor, referred to only as “Target One” at first, was his original target because she was encouraging pedophilia in schools and espousing rhetoric that would turn children into radical Communists. 

“I understand her to be a professor who is a published pedo activist,” DePape told Chuang. DePape also said Target One is “destroying schools” and turning them into “molestation factories.”

Target One turned out to be Gayle Rubin, a professor at the University of Michigan.

DePape said Rubin was a higher priority than Nancy Pelosi because she was corrupting minors, whereas Pelosi was merely lying about corruption. 

DePape said he spent most of his free time before the attack listening to podcasts from conservative pundits Tim Pool and James Lindsay. DePape said that’s where he learned about the sexualization of children in schools.

“I was outraged,” DePape told Chuang.

DePape pivoted to the Pelosi residence because he surveilled Rubin’s residence and determined it would be too difficult to break into. Rubin’s phone number and address were found on a handwritten note in his pocket after he was arrested.

DePape broke into tears multiple times when he recounted his encounter with Paul Pelosi in the home. He said he never intended to hurt Paul and was only after Nancy.

“We kinda had a pretty good rapport going. He was a very amiable gentleman,” DePape said. 

When police showed up at the door, DePape said Pelosi grabbed at the hammer he was carrying, which surprised him because Pelosi had not made any move towards the hammer up to that point.

“I reacted and tried to swing at him but I had to pull it away first ... I recall hitting him once,” DePape said. “I reacted because my plan was basically ruined.”

After the attack, DePape said he felt sorry for Paul Pelosi. 

“I was really scared for his life,” he said.

Rubin later took the stand and testified.  She said that she is an anthropologist and college professor that writes and researches numerous topics, and does not support the sexual abuse of children.

“I’ve written on gender stratification, urban processes, frameworks of sexuality … I study the urban processes that tend to distribute LGBTQ people in the city,” with a focus on SoMa, she told public defender Jodi Linker.

Rubin said that she is aware that her writings have been seized upon by right-wing talking heads, who argue that she promotes pedophilia. She insists her research into sexuality and age of consent laws have been misconstrued and are being used to fuel culture war debates.

“I think these issues have been weaponized in many number of ways, first of all to attack the gay movement … They’ve been weaponized to pursue numerous political agendas. The way I think this works online is little pieces of this and that are cherry picked and thrown into a larger narrative,” Rubin said.

The defense is seeking to exonerate DePape because they see he did not seek out Nancy Pelosi because of the performance of her official duties. DePape is facing two federal charges: assault on an immediate family member of a federal official and attempted kidnapping of a federal official.

The prosecution has argued that Pelosi is always performing her official duties. She cannot separate her job from herself.

The prosecution and the defense rested their cases in the early afternoon. Closing arguments are tomorrow.

Categories / Criminal, National, Trials

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