CNN
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The man who assaulted Nancy Pelosi at her husband’s home last year showed no remorse and continued his dangerous campaign against the former House speaker in a strange call to reporters in San Francisco on Friday, Bay Area radio reported. fixed.
David DePape called KTVU’s Amber Lee from the San Francisco County Jail on the same day the footage of the attack was released, calling it an “important message for everyone in America.”
DePape, who did not name Pelosi by name, said he had collected the “names and addresses” of those he believed to be “systematically and deliberately” undermining American liberties and liberties, and said he wanted to “conduct a heart-to-heart consultation regarding their bad behavior.” heart talk.”
DePape added that he should have been “more prepared,” adding that he was sorry “for not getting more.”
KTVU said their reporters were not allowed to ask DePape follow-up questions during the phone conversation, which he allowed to be recorded.
On the same day he received the call, a California court released video of the attack, audio from the 911 call and the initial police interview after his arrest, in which he echoed views of right-wing extremism, including highlighting how he was influenced by MAGA metaphor. Dangerous speech and conspiracy.
DePape also told a San Francisco police officer in October that the reason he went to Pelosis’ San Francisco home was because he thought the then-Speaker was the “leader” of all politicians in Washington, D.C., “lying on a unanimous basis.”
In laying out the reasons for the attack, DePape epitomizes how dangerously unsubstantiated political rhetoric entering the mainstream has fueled political violence across the country.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said earlier this month that threats against members of Congress “remain too high” even as threat investigations drop in 2022 for the first time in five years. After rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, federal law enforcement agencies have been warning of a growing threat of politically motivated violence, raising specific concerns that calls for violence online could lead to real-world attacks .
DePape claimed in his October interview that Democrats led by Pelosi were spying on former President Donald Trump in a way worse than Watergate, when then-President Richard Nixon was found to be trying to Forced to resign after cover-up break – at DNC headquarters.
“When Trump took office, they did so much more than spy on a rival campaign. It was crazy,” DePape said in a taped interview with a San Francisco police officer in October.
Without evidence, DePape claimed that Democrats were on an “endless criminal spree” in Trump’s presence.
“They’re not just spying on a rival campaign, they’re submitting false evidence to spy on a rival campaign, to cover up, to persecute a rival campaign,” DePape said of what he believes Democrats have done to Trump. Say when doing something.
De Pape said the actions stemmed from Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful 2016 campaign for Trump and that all Democrats were “criminals.” But he thinks Pelosi is someone who “walks with lies.”
DePape faces state and federal charges in connection with the attack. He pleaded not guilty.
The video and audio were released by the court on Friday, over the objections of DePape’s attorneys, who argued it would “irreparably impair” his right to a fair trial. Media outlets, including CNN, pressured the court to release the information.