Man wanted to 'break kneecaps' of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in attack that left her husband injured

Federal prosecutors say the man accused of attacking the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer told police he wanted to hold the speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps”.

David DePape wanted to show other members of Congress there were “consequences to actions”, authorities said.

In a federal complaint, officials say the 42-year-old was carrying zip ties and tape in a backpack when he broke into the couple’s San Francisco home early on Friday morning before going upstairs where 82-year-old Paul Pelosi was sleeping and demanded to talk to “Nancy”.

When Mr Pelosi told the intruder she was not there, DePape said he would wait – even after being told she would not be home for some days, it said.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi. Picture: AP Photo/Kevin Wolf

“This house and the speaker herself were specifically targets,” San Francisco district attorney Brooke Jenkins said at a news conference announcing state charges against DePape, including attempted murder.

“This was politically motivated,” Ms Jenkins said. She implored the public to “watch the words that we say and to turn down the volume of our political rhetoric”.

Investigators believe DePape had been researching in advance to target Pelosi, Ms Jenkins said.

“This was not something that he did at the spur of the moment,” she said.

In a statement, Speaker Pelosi said her family was “most grateful” for “thousands of messages conveying concern, prayers and warm wishes”. Her husband underwent surgery for a fractured skull and other injuries after the attack and she said he was making “steady progress on what will be a long recovery process”.

The stark narrative laid out by state and federal prosecutors stands in contrast to the mocking jokes and conspiracy theories circulated by far-right figures and even some leading Republicans just a week before midterm elections. A record number of security threats are being reported against politicians and election officials.

At a campaign event on Monday in Arizona, Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for governor, drew hearty laughs as she joked about security at the Pelosi home.

In addition to the state charges, DePape was also charged in federal court with influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official by threatening or injuring a family member. He also faces one count of attempted kidnapping of a United States official because of their official duties.

No attorney has been listed for DePape. He was scheduled to be arraigned yesterday on the state charges, and prosecutors will ask for him to be held in jail without bail.

DePape told investigators he wanted to talk to Speaker Pelosi and viewed her as the “leader of the pack of lies told by the Democratic Party”, according to the eight-page complaint.

“If she were to tell DePape the ‘truth,’ he would let her go and if she ’lied’, he was going to break her kneecaps,” the complaint alleges.

“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 complaint says DePape told investigators.

The federal complaint says DePape said he wanted “to use Nancy to lure” another person, but it provides no details of such a plan.

DePape is a Canadian citizen who legally entered the United States in 2000 but has stayed long after his visa expired.