The man on trial for beating Paul Pelosi in his San Francisco home with a hammer truly believed he was trying to save the world from a secret cabal of high-profile pedophiles, his defense attorney told a San Francisco court Thursday.
At the opening of David DePape’s federal trial, his legal team said they will not deny that he hit Pelosi, an incident caught on police body camera, but they would explain that he was motivated by Internet conspiracy theories spread by the “ruling class.” liberal”. lies and abused children.
Defense attorney Jodi Linker told the jury: “This is not a whodunit, but what the government doesn’t recognize is the ‘why.’ And why matters. “The why is what makes this a federal case.”
DePape faces two charges; attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on an immediate family member of a federal official in retaliation for his performance of duties.
Linker said the defense will show that DePape’s decision to break into Pelosi’s home had nothing to do with Nancy Pelosi’s superior position in Congress at the time, but was part of a larger plan to attack a list of people for reasons based on unfounded conspiracies that he has read.
A still image from video shot by a San Francisco police body camera shows suspect David DePape (left) assaulting Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at their San Francisco home. Francisco on October 28, 2022. San Francisco Police Department/AFP via Getty Images David DePape appears in Berkeley, California, on December 13, 2013. DePape faces multiple charges, including attempted kidnapping of a federal official. AP In this file photo taken on April 23, 2019, then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelos and her husband Paul Pelosi arrive at the Time 100 Gala at Lincoln Center in New York. AFP via Getty Images David DePape, center, records Gypsy Taub being led away by police after her nude wedding in front of City Hall on December 19, 2013, in San Francisco. DePape was known in Berkeley, California, as a pro-nudity activist, who had participated naked in protests against local ordinances requiring people to be clothed in public.
Giving examples of easily disproven falsehoods that DePape apparently believed after reading them on the margins of the Internet, Linker explained: “Tom Hanks, the actor, raped a 13-year-old girl. [Calif. rep] “Adam Schiff abuses children.”
He also detailed how DePape felt: “Nancy Pelosi is a cultural warrior, the face of the Democratic Party. Her arsenal is the Democratic National Committee and her weapon is the mainstream media.
“Members of the jury, many of us don’t believe any of that. You may think it’s all lies, but the evidence in this trial will show that Mr. DePape believes all of these things…with every ounce of his being.”
Linker said the defense will show that DePape’s decision to break into Pelosi’s home had nothing to do with Nancy Pelosi’s highest position in Congress at the time. Getty Images for Paramount+
DePape had posted rants on a blog and online forum on topics including aliens, communists, religious minorities and global elites.
He also echoed the baseless right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims that the US government is run by a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles.
In making their opening statements, prosecutors said DePape, 43, broke into the home shortly after 2 a.m., but only found Paul Pelosi since Nancy was in Washington, DC.
Paul Pelosi managed to call 911 and told a dispatcher, “This gentleman just came into the house and he wants to wait here until my wife gets back and he’s telling me to get off the phone anyway.”
An image from a San Francisco Police Department body camera video captured DePape holding a hammer, which he allegedly used to attack Paul Pelosi, 83, inside his home in San Francisco on October 28, 2022. San Francisco Police Department/AFP via fake images
Two San Francisco police officers responded to the call, and when Paul Pelosi answered the door, DePape attacked the 83-year-old man with a hammer.
During her opening statement, federal prosecutor Laura Vartain Horn held up the hammer, which was encased in a plastic bag, in front of jurors.
The attack was captured by the police’s body cameras. On Thursday, jurors were shown photos of Paul Pelosi lying in a pool of his own blood, according to KQED.
Horn also showed the jury a “fact sheet,” which she said contained details about Nancy Pelosi and her family, including several addresses that FBI investigators pulled from DePape’s computer.
Police tape blocks a street in front of the home of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul Pelosi in San Francisco on Oct. 28, 2022. AP House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , leaves her home in San Francisco on November 4, 2022. Her husband, Paul Pelosi, is expected to testify in federal court this week.David G. McIntyre
Horn said FBI investigators also found a folder on the computer marked “favorite politicians” that had names of other high-profile people DePape was also tracking.
In an interview with police, DePape confessed to attacking Paul Pelosi, telling the officer: “I’m not trying to get away with this. “I know exactly what I did.”
He told police he wanted to break Nancy Pelosi’s kneecaps because she had harmed “the entire American public” by “presenting false evidence to spy.” [Trump’s] rival campaign.”
Paul Pelosi arrives at a House Democrats rally on the east steps of the United States Capitol on October 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. fake images
DePape faces life in prison for two felonies, including attempted kidnapping of a federal officer and assault on an immediate family member of a federal officer.
Paul Pelosi, who suffered skull fractures from the attack, is expected to testify during the federal trial.
DePape also faces a charge of attempted murder in a separate state case. He also pleaded not guilty to that charge.
With post cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn