David DePape, Paul Pelosi’s attacker, called a California Fox local news station from jail on Friday and made bizarre and chilling statements that he called an “important message.”
On the call, which KTVU had permission to record, DePape said “you’re welcome” for the Paul Pelosi attack.
DePape faces state charges of attempted murder and elder abuse and federal charges for kidnapping after he allegedly broke into the home of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and assaulted her husband, Paul, with a hammer.
Despite saying he didn’t want to jeopardize his case, DePape told KTVU he attacked Pelosi because “liberty isn’t dying, it’s being killed systematically and deliberately.”
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,” he asserted.
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DePape also made a chilling apology for not going further.
“I want to apologize to everyone. I messed up. What I did was really bad. I’m so sorry I didn’t get more of them. It’s my own fault. No one else is to blame. I should have come better prepared,” he said.
He also claimed to have a website with “a lot more to say” but said authorities had taken the website down.
DePape called KTVU after the San Francisco Superior Court released audio and video footage of the Paul Pelosi attack to the media. DePape’s interview with police was also made public after prosecutors sought to keep materials from the case secret.
Paul Pelosi, 82, was the victim of an alleged hammer attack by DePape, 42, in October in the San Francisco home he shares with his wife, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who was in Washington, D.C. at the time. Paul Pelosi underwent emergency surgery on a fractured skull following the confrontation.
Surveillance video from U.S Capitol Police (USCP) – who were assigned to Pelosi’s house to protect the former speaker – shows DePape breaking and entering the residence. USCP officers were not watching the live surveillance feed when DePape allegedly attacked Paul Pelosi, sources told Fox News shortly after the incident.
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Audio from Paul Pelosi’s 911 call revealed that DePape had entered the Pelosi home and said he was waiting for Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi told the dispatcher that he did not know DePape and that he was being instructed to “put the phone down and do what he says.” Asked if he needed police, fire or medical, Paul Pelosi said, “I don’t think so,” but it was possible he made that statement under duress.
Police bodycam footage shows officers responding to the Pelosi home shortly before the alleged attack at around 2:30 a.m. They were greeted at the door by Paul Pelosi, with DePape standing behind him. They were each holding on to a hammer. The encounter with police lasted 15 seconds before the attack. Police told DePape to put the hammer down, he refused, and the video shows he struck Paul Pelosi in the head before police officers tackled him to the ground.
Later, in an interview with investigators, DePape said he had intended to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and question her over what Democrats had done to former President Trump. If she had lied, he said he intended to break her kneecaps, audio of police questioning showed.
DePape has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of assaulting an immediate family member of a federal official and attempted kidnapping of a federal officer.
If convicted, he faces 30- and 20-year prison terms, respectively.
He also faces state charges that carry up to life in prison if convicted.
Fox News’ Joe Schoffstall, Houston Keene, Michael Ruiz and Greg Norman contributed to this report.