Defense alleges Paul Pelosi's attacker was fueled by conspiracy theories; he brought inflatable unicorn costumes to congresswoman's home

Opening statements in the federal trial of the man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi began on Thursday. The hammer attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was fueled by conspiracy theories, according to the defense.

David DePape is standing trial for bludgeoning Pelosi with a hammer inside the couple's Pacific Heights home in San Francisco, California. In attendance at the courtroom on Thursday were Christine Pelosi, a daughter of the Pelosis; Gypsy Taub, DePape’s ex-girlfriend; and Taub’s and DePape's two sons.

Prosecutors started their opening statements by presenting video and photographic evidence of the hammer attack on Pelosi. Prosecutors exhibited a hammer in a plastic bag – said to be the weapon DePape used to assault the congresswoman's husband. Then-82-year-old Pelosi suffered a fractured skull that required surgery in the beatdown caught on police bodycam video that was carried out in the early hours of Oct. 28, 2022.

While holding a clear plastic bag containing the alleged attack weapon in her hand, federal prosecutor Laura Vartain Horn told the courtroom, "The evidence in this case is going to show that when the defendant used this hammer to break into the Pelosis' home, he intended to kidnap Nancy Pelosi."

Horn stated that DePape began planning his attack in August 2022. She noted that evidence and FBI testimony will expose how DePape researched his targets online, collected phone numbers and addresses, and paid a public records service to gather information about Nancy Pelosi and other politicians.

The prosecution's first witness was a San Francisco police officer who responded to Pelosi's 911 call. The officer described the hammer strike as "iron hitting skull."

Prosecutors aired police bodycam footage of DePape admitting to thrashing Pelosi while speaking to police and paramedics near the alleged crime scene.

“There is no denying what I did. Cops watched me do it,” DePape said immediately following the hammer attack.

Government prosecutors also showed jurors multiple videos of Pelosi lying in a pool of his own blood.

Prosecutors also played audio from January when DePape called a San Francisco news station and seemingly confessed to attacking Pelosi.

"I have an important message for everyone in America: You’re welcome," DePape told KTVU reporter Amber Lee from San Francisco County Jail.

"Freedom and liberty isn't dying, it's being killed systematically and deliberately," DePape continued. "The people killing it have names and addresses. So I got their names and addresses so I could pay them a little visit. Have a heart-to-heart chat about their bad behavior."

The defense began opening statements by asserting that DePape was motivated by conspiracy theories.

Defense attorney Jodi Linker conceded that DePape assaulted Pelosi. However, she argued that her client believed "with every ounce of his being" that he was taking necessary actions to stop government corruption and to prevent the abuse of children by politicians and actors.

"This is not a ‘whodunit.’ But what the government fails to acknowledge is the ‘whydunit,’ and the why matters in this case,” Linker told the court.

"These beliefs matter because both charges require that the government prove that Mr. DePape acted because of her performance of her official duties as a member of Congress," she said.

"At the end of this trial, you will know that the reason he acted had nothing to do with Nancy Pelosi [and her] official duties as a member of Congress," Linker declared. "The reason, the why of all of this, had everything to do with the ruling class engaged in corruption. The media spreading lies and protecting children. [DePape] went to the Pelosi home to effectuate his plan, as bizarre, misguided, and unthoughtful as it was."

Last December, DePape pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official with intent to retaliate against the official for performance of their duties.

The defense contended that DePape went to the congresswoman's home to have a discussion about wealth, power, corruption, and the preservation of truth. The defense attorneys said their client had no intention to kidnap or harm anyone.

However, at the time of the assault, DePape reportedly possessed a hammer, a sledgehammer, zip ties, duct tape, and gloves.

San Francisco Police Acting Lt. O’Connor – who helped process the crime scene – testified on Thursday that she collected a sleeping bag and two backpacks from the patio outside the house. Inside the backpacks were cash, a Canadian passport, a Canadian birth certificate, men’s clothes, a video game console, and two inflatable, multicolor unicorn costumes, according to O'Connor.

DePape, 43, is a Canadian citizen who moved to the United States more than 20 years ago after falling in love with Taub – a San Francisco pro-nudist activist.

Paul Pelosi is expected to testify next week.

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