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Paul Pelosi’s attacker David DePape took two unicorn costumes to his victim’s mansion before beating him to death with a hammer, a court has heard.
David DePape, a former nudist from Canada, entered Pelosi’s San Francisco mansion through a back door in the early hours of October 28, 2022, and punched Paul, the 82-year-old husband of former House Speaker Nancy.
The attack — which DePape’s lawyer has admitted carrying out — left Paul Pelosi in the hospital with a fractured skull.
On Monday, in court in San Francisco, authorities shared details of DePape’s purchases from Amazon in the months before the attacks, a laundry list of items he allegedly brought with him to the crime scene.
They include everything from a camping backpack, computer cables, body cameras, crayons and, bizarrely, two Spooktacular unicorn costumes.
The prosecutor played a recording of a phone call DePage later placed to a news reporter, which said, “I have an important message for everyone in America. Don’t mention it.’
David DePape (left) listens as Jason Matthes, who works for Spokeo, shows a search DePape did before the attack
David DePape didn’t hold back while watching body camera footage of himself with Paul Pelosi at Pelosi’s San Francisco home
He then spoke about the need for more patriots, and apologized: “I didn’t get any more.”
On Monday, he watched without hesitation as prosecutors played police body camera footage of the attack.
DePape sat quietly at the table with two attorneys on the left as prosecutors called witnesses who laid out the case.
He leaned back in a brown leather chair, arms folded, and observed the testimony. He was wearing a blue sweater with a blue button down, clean shaven and his hair in a ponytail.
Prosecutors presented the graphic footage of the hammer attack, which showed an officer shining a flashlight and confronting DePape with Pelosi in the doorway.
As the two struggled, DePape raised his gavel and hit Pelosi over the head, knocking him to the ground three times.
Another video showed blood pouring from Pelosi’s head, his hands soaked red, as paramedics tended to him.
There were audible gasps in the courtroom, but DePape seemed unperturbed. He blinked a few times but remained silent, hunched over as he watched the video playing on the laptop in front of him.
A court sketch shows DePape listening to an official from Spokeo, a people search website, testify about his search history.
Jason Matthes, who works for Spokeo, briefly testified that he had searched Pelosi’s home and other locations in Hollywood and Sacramento before the attack.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Minor testified that they monitored a series of web activities on DePape’s hard drive, including a series of Nancy Pelosi-related searches in the days leading up to the attack.
He repeatedly searched Spokeo to find her home address in San Francisco, looked for information about her biography, and also investigated some previous news stories about other people targeting her home.
Minor noted a search on DailyMail.com for a story about a YouTuber who filmed himself defecating in Pelosi’s driveway, and other Google searches for “Pelosi Pig Blood,” about her property being vandalized with a pig’s head and fake blood.
Images of Pelosi’s garage, shown to cover that incident, were found on DePape’s hard drive.
Minor testified that there were about 50 video surveillance cameras that captured DePape’s harrowing journey to carry out the hammer attack.
He was seen carrying two backpacks and the sleeping bag, which were later recovered by authorities.
One shows multiple camera angles of him going through the turnstile at the Bay Area Rapid Transit station at El Cerrito Plaza. Some timestamps may be incorrect in some cases because the surveillance cameras have not been updated to daylight saving time.
Other footage shows DePape, wearing a long-sleeved top and cargo shorts, boarding a train at the station before it pulls away, then sitting inside with his feet on his bag.
He is then seen standing on a platform at MacArthur Station waiting for a transfer, boarding another train to Civic Center/UN Plaza, making the trip and arriving at the station.
DePape’s lawyers argue that he is not guilty of the charges because he did not pursue Nancy Pelosi to prevent her from carrying out her official duties.
Police body camera footage captured the moment DePape punched Paul Pelosi (right), fracturing his skull and putting him in the hospital for a week
He is then seen boarding a San Francisco Muni bus and later disembarking at North Point Street and Van Ness Avenue.
U.S. Capitol Police video shows DePape appearing as a shadowy figure as he quickly walks along a sidewalk toward the Pelosi residence, then enters more clearly through a gate and steps back out to the back patio.
He is then seen using an object to repeatedly smash a glass window to gain entry to the property.
Paul Pelosi will testify at the trial and will talk about the night the man broke into his San Francisco home and fractured his skull.
Prosecutors said DePape previously admitted to breaking into the home with the intention of getting the senior Democrat to acknowledge her party’s “lies” or he would smash her kneecaps.
Finding only her then 82-year-old husband at home, he began what he told officers was a “pretty amicable” exchange, during which Paul Pelosi managed to call for help.
DePape has pleaded not guilty to burglary and attempted murder, and a federal trial is underway.
He has struggled with drugs and posts outrageous COVID conspiracy theories, anti-Semitic rants, racist comments and unhinged screeds about religion online.
In her opening statement, attorney Jodi Linker said she will not dispute that her client attacked Paul Pelosi, an encounter that was captured on police body camera footage.
The footage shows DePape bludgeoning Pelosi with a hammer before officers rush over and take away the weapon.
Pelosi was knocked unconscious and spent almost a week in the hospital, where he underwent surgery to repair a fractured skull.
Instead, his lawyer will argue that he 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.
Linker’s argument is that DePape is not guilty of the charges because he did not go after Nancy Pelosi to prevent her from carrying out her official duties.
DePape wore a light blue shirt and a dark blue sweater during jury selection
A screenshot of security footage shows DePape outside the Pelosi House during the early hours of October 28, 2022
Paul Pelosi was hit multiple times with the hammer, rendering him unconscious as officers rushed in and arrested DePape
Aerial footage showed broken windows and shattered glass at the back door of Pelosi’s home
“These convictions are significant because both charges require the government to prove that Mr. DePape acted in connection with her performance of her official duties as a member of Congress,” Linker said.
She said DePape’s beliefs are “completely unrelated to Nancy Pelosi’s official duties.”
When police arrested DePape, they found a manifesto with anti-government beliefs and a list of other politicians he planned to target.
He has posted rants on a blog and an online forum about aliens, communists, religious minorities and global elites.
He questioned the results of the 2020 election and reiterated the baseless, right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory that claims the US government is controlled by a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles. The websites were taken offline shortly after his arrest.
He has also pleaded not guilty to charges in state court of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other crimes.
No state trial has been scheduled.