An emotional Paul Pelosi has told a court in San Francisco that he tried not to think or talk about the events of October 28, 2022, when a hammer-wielding David DePape broke in and attacked him.
Pelosi, 83, described the moment he was woken up before dawn on October 28, saying that it was the first time he was telling the story.
‘The door opened and a very, very large man came in with a hammer in one hand and some ties in the other hand,’ Pelosi told the court, speaking calmly but with emotion in his voice.
‘He said where’s Nancy?
‘He burst into the door and woke me up.’
Testifying for around an hour, Pelosi told the court of his efforts to alert 911 to the threat, without pushing DePape to attack him. He described negotiating with DePape to go downstairs, where Pelosi hoped he’d be rescued by police. And he told of ‘waking up in a pool of blood’.
Paul Pelosi, husband of the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is seen leaving the courthouse in San Francisco on Monday after testifying against David DePape
Paul Pelosi is seen testifying on Monday, as David DePape (left) listens
David DePape didn’t flinch while watching body camera footage of himself with Paul Pelosi at the Pelosi’s San Francisco home
Police body camera footage captured the moment DePape bludgeoned Paul Pelosi (right) which fractured his skull and put him in the hospital for a week
DePape, a former nudist from Canada who became obsessed with conspiracy theories, has pleaded not guilty to breaking and entering and attempted murder charges.
Defense attorney Jodi Linker told jurors last week that she won’t dispute that DePape attacked Paul Pelosi. Instead, she will argue that DePape believed ‘with every ounce of his being″ that he was taking action to stop government corruption and the abuse of children by politicians and actors. She said that means the government’s charges that DePape was trying to retaliate or interfere with Nancy Pelosi’s official duties don’t fit.
Pelosi told the court that his wife was in Washington DC on the night of October 27, and her security detail, which protected her around the clock, was with her.
He said the government had installed security cameras around the property, and the cameras were monitored remotely from Washington DC, by Capitol Police.
There was an alarm, with motion sensors, in the house but Pelosi said he did not turn the alarm on when he was home.
‘I had been out to dinner and came home I think about 10:30pm,’ he told the court.
‘I tend to watch little television, maybe one of the late shows, then go to bed.’
DePape is seen on security camera footage outside the Pelosi’s mansion at 5am on October 28.
Earlier on Monday, authorities shared records of DePape’s purchases from Amazon in the months before the attacks, which he took with him to the crime scene.
They included a camping backpack, computer cables, body cameras, crayons and, two Spooktacular unicorn costumes.
The prosecution also played a recording of a call DePage later placed to a news reporter, stating: ‘I have an important message for everyone in America. You’re welcome.’
DePape’s attorneys argue that he is not guilty of the charges because he was not after Nancy Pelosi to try to stop her from engaging in her official duties
Aerial footage showed broken panes and shattered glass at the backdoor of Pelosi’s home
A screenshot of security footage shows DePape outside the Pelosi home during the early hours of October 28, 2022
Pelosi told the court he was horrified to find the imposing stranger in his room.
‘It was a tremendous shock to recognize somebody had broken into the house,’ said Pelosi.
‘Looking at him and the hammer and ties, I recognized I was in serious danger. And so, I tried to stay as calm as possible.
‘I said she’s not here.’
Pelosi said that DePape told him they would wait for her return, and he was ‘going to have to tie you up’ while they waited.
Pelosi continued: ‘I realized it was a very serious situation.
‘I tried to stay as calm as possible. The first thing I tried to do, after some back and forth with him, was to get up and try to get to the elevator.’
He said DePape ‘blocked me’ as he tried to get to the elevator.
‘I went back in and sat on the bed,’ said Pelosi.
‘We had some conversation about him saying that she was leader of the pack, he had to take her out.’
DePape was wearing a light blue shirt and a dark blue sweater during jury selection
Pelosi said he stood and went to the bathroom, where his cell phone was charging, and called 911.
‘He followed me to the bathroom,’ said Pelosi.
‘I was standing there talking on the phone and he was right there at the doorway of the bathroom.’
Pelosi said he had to be careful of his words on the 911 call.
‘There was this very large man threatening me,’ he told the court.
‘He told me he was going to take me out. I had to convey to the 911 person I was in trouble.
‘I had a very difficult time letting them know.
‘He was saying, just tell them it’s a friend.
‘I was on the phone trying to convey to them there was somebody in the house. He was telling me to say it’s a friend. I was trying to convey the information without angering him.’
DePape took the phone from him, and told him he was tired – so Pelosi seized the moment.
‘He basically said I’m tired, I’m going to get some sleep. So I’m going to tie you up and I’m going to get some sleep,’ Pelosi recalled.
‘I said okay, I get it, if that’s what you want to do.
‘I said since all your stuff is downstairs, why don’t we go downstairs and you can tie me up downstairs so you can go to sleep?
‘We came down and went down two flights of stairs. I was holding onto the banister and he was right behind me.
‘I’m thinking I hope the police come. I knew my only shot was if we were downstairs and police came.’
Pelosi said that when they got downstairs, DePape realized the police were on their way.
‘He said the police are here, it’s over for me, I’m going to have to take you out,’ Pelosi recalled.
Pelosi opened the door, and let the police in.
‘When I opened the door I thought, thank God the police were here,’ Pelosi said.
‘And there was this huge guy with a hammer in his hand. I didn’t know what was going to happen next.
‘I turned and tried to put my hand on his hand, on the hammer, and he pushed me aside and whacked me on the head.’
Pelosi said he woke up in a pool of blood, and remembered being put in an ambulance.
Paul Pelosi was hit multiple times with the hammer leaving him unconscious as the officers rushed in and arrested DePape
He said he spent around a week in hospital, and said it was ‘very painful’, and still suffers from light-headedness.
Doctors were worried about permanent brain damage, and told him to avoid bright lights, noise and television.
‘I’m pretty close to being back to normal,’ he said.
‘But I have not discussed this incident with anybody.
‘I just have tried to put it out of my mind. It wasn’t until my two meetings with you and your associates.
‘I’ve made the best effort I possibly can to not revisit this.’
Federal prosecutor Laura Vartain Horn told jurors during opening statements on Thursday that DePape started planning the attack in August and that the evidence and FBI testimony will show he researched his targets online, collecting phone numbers and addresses, even paying for a public records service to find information.
If convicted, DePape faces life in prison.
He also has pleaded not guilty to charges in state court of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies.
A state trial has not been scheduled.