Accused Pelosi Attacker Carried Zip Ties: Reports

LOS ANGELES, CA — A man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi with a hammer also carried zip ties, according to a person briefed on the investigation.

The attack unfolded less than two weeks before the Nov. 8 election that will determine control of Congress.

David DePape, 42, was arrested in connection with the violent attack, which highlighted the nation’s toxic political climate.

Authorities said DePape severely beat Pelosi with a hammer after breaking into the couple's San Francisco home early Friday. During the intrusion, Depape searched for the Democratic leader and shouted: “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”

It the latest parallel to the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021. When rioters swarmed the Capitol trying to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory over Donald Trump, many roamed the halls demanding, “Where’s Nancy?”

In addition to the zip ties, DePape also had duct tape on him, an unnamed law enforcement source told CNN.

Some in the siege were also seen inside the Capitol carrying zip ties. The presence of the zip ties on the suspect in Pelosi's assault was first reported by CNN.

U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a weekend memo to lawmakers that the attack "is a somber reminder of the threats elected officials and families face in 2022."

In response to the attack, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who leads the Senate committee overseeing security at the Capitol, said lawmakers are considering new measures, including taking their private information off the internet.

Klobuchar said that Nancy Pelosi “has been villainized for years and, big surprise, it’s gone viral, and it went violent.”

“I think it is really important that people realize that it is not just this moment of this horrific attack, but that we have seen violence perpetrated throughout our political system,” Klobuchar told NBC's “Meet the Press.”

Nancy Pelosi was in Washington when her husband was attacked at home. She hurried home to San Francisco, where her husband was hospitalized. He had surgery for a skull fracture, and suffered other injuries to his arms and hands, her office said.

“Our children, our grandchildren and I are heartbroken and traumatized by the life-threatening attack on our Pop,” she said in a letter late Saturday to colleagues. “We are grateful for the quick response of law enforcement and emergency services, and for the life-saving medical care he is receiving.”

Police arrived at Pelosi's home around 2:30 a.m. on Friday, when they discovered 82-year-old Pelosi and Depape both grabbing onto the hammer, said Police Chief William Scott. The intruder yanked it from Pelosi and began beating him before he was subdued and arrested by officers.

After DePape broke into Pelosi's home, he went upstairs where he was sleeping, CNN reported.

Police in San Francisco said the assault of Paul Pelosi was intentional and the two did not know each other before the attack.

Leading up to the attack, DePape had become increasingly involved with conspiracy theories, the Los Angeles Times first reported.

Depape had run a personal blog — which has since been taken down — where he posted about topics such as "Manipulation of History," "Holohoax" and "It's OK to be white," according to a Times review of his blog.

He posted about dozens of conspiracy theories, from QAnon to the war in Ukraine being a ploy for Jewish people to buy land, the newspaper reported.

His daughter confirmed with the Times that her father ran the blog.

"I’m a little shocked," said his daughter, Inti Gozalez, "but not really that shocked, in all honesty."

Stepfather Gene DePape said the suspect had lived with him in Canada until he was 14 and had been a quiet boy.

“David was never violent that I seen and was never in any trouble although he was very reclusive and played too much video games," Gene DePape said.

He said he hasn’t seen his stepson since 2003 and tried to get in touch with him several times over the years without success.

“In 2007, I tried to get in touch but his girlfriend hung up on me when I asked to talk to him,“ Gene DePape said.
David DePape was known in Berkeley as a pro-nudity activist who had picketed naked at protests against local ordinances requiring people to be clothed in public.

Gene DePape said the girlfriend whom his son followed to California was named Gypsy and they had two children together. DePape also has a child with a different woman, his stepfather said.

Photographs published by The San Francisco Chronicle on Friday identified DePape frolicking nude outside city hall with dozens of others at the 2013 wedding of pro-nudity activist Gypsy Taub, who was marrying another man. Taub did not respond Friday to calls or emails.

A 2013 article in The Chronicle described David DePape as a “hemp jewelry maker” who lived in a Victorian flat in Berkeley with Taub, who hosted a talk show on local public-access TV called “Uncensored 9/11,” in which she appeared naked and pushed conspiracy theories that the 2001 terrorist attacks were “an inside job.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.