Paul Pelosi attack suspect pleads not guilty to state charges

David DePape, who is accused of breaking into outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and brutally assaulting her husband Paul Pelosi, pleaded not guilty to state charges.

Mr DePape, 42, only said the word “yes” at a Wednesday hearing, where he waived his right to a speedy trial. The alleged assailant has previously pleaded not guilty to other state and federal charges tied to the October attack.

The 42-year-old allegedly broke into the Pelosi’s hilltop mansion in the Pacific Heights neighbourhood in the early morning hours of 28 October.

Police arrived to find him and Mr Pelosi struggling for control of a hammer, which Mr DePape allegedly used to bludgeon the 82-year-old so severely he required surgery.

“DePape stated that he was going to hold Nancy [Pelosi] hostage and talk to her. If Nancy were to tell DePape the ‘truth,’ he would let her go, and if she ‘lied,’ he was going to break ‘her kneecaps’,” said the criminal complaint against him in federal court. “DePape was certain that Nancy would not have told the ‘truth’. In the course of the interview, DePape articulated he viewed Nancy as the ‘leader of the pack’ of lies told by the Democratic Party.”

“DePape also later explained that by breaking Nancy’s kneecaps, she would then have to be wheeled into Congress, which would show other Members of Congress there were consequences to actions,” the documents continue.

Police reportedly found Mr DePape with a backpack, tape, white rope, a hammer, a pair of gloves and a journal.

The 42-year-old’s Internet history reveals an obsession with far-right media, conspiracy theories and QAnon, SFGate reported.

Mr DePape will return to court in San Francisco in February.