Man accused of hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband named Tom Hanks as target, court hears
A man accused of attacking the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there was “evil in Washington” and named other targets including actor Tom Hanks, a court has heard.
David DePape is accused of breaking into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home on 28 October in a bid to kidnap the speaker – who was not there.
He instead beat her 82-year-old husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer – with the violent attack sending shockwaves through the political world.
Nancy and Paul Pelosi pictured in 2018
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy ruled that prosecutors had shown enough evidence during a preliminary hearing on Wednesday to move forward with a trial on the state charges, including attempted murder.
Lt Carla Hurley, who interviewed DePape for an hour the day of the attack, testified that the defendant told her of other people he wanted to target, including Oscar-winner Hanks, California Governor Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.
The officer did not say whether police had any evidence of a plot against them.
Fellow police officer Kyle Cagney said he saw both DePape and Mr Pelosi holding the hammer when the door opened.
He told the court that DePape did not follow the officers’ commands to drop the weapon and instead lunged at Mr Pelosi, swinging the hammer at him.
Mr Pelosi was knocked unconscious before waking up in a pool of his own blood.
He later underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands.
Lt Hurley said DePape told her that he had been looking for Mrs Pelosi, and told her husband that he was not part of the plan.
Paul Pelosi was attacked at his San Francisco home in October
She added DePape still told Mr Pelosi: “I can take you out, I can take you out.”
Lt Hurley said DePape told her that after he spotted the lights of a police car, he told Mr Pelosi: “I’m not going to surrender, I am here to fight. If you stop me from going after people, you will take the punishment instead.”
Prosecutors showed the hammer that was allegedly used in the attack in court during Wednesday’s proceedings, which were attended by Christine Pelosi, one of the Pelosis’ five adult children.
The district attorney’s office played audio of Mr Pelosi’s 911 call to San Francisco police to the courtroom.
They also showed under a minute of video footage from body cameras that captured the attack. The 911 dispatcher has been widely credited with sending two officers to the couple’s home despite limited information.
DePape, wearing an orange jumpsuit for the hearing on Wednesday, has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges, including attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse.
He remains in custody without bail. He is due back in court on 28 December.
Mrs Pelosi was in Washington at the time of her husband’s attack and under the protection of her security detail, which does not extend to family members.
Last month, she said she would not run again to be Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, after nearly two decades in the role.
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South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.
His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.
Stock markets around the world fell on Thursday after Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs – with some economists now fearing a recession.
The US president announced tariffs for almost every country – including 10% rates on imports from the UK – on Wednesday evening, sending financial markets reeling.
While the UK’s FTSE 100 closed down 1.55% and the continent’s STOXX Europe 600 index was down 2.67% as of 5.30pm, it was American traders who were hit the most.
Trump tariffs latest: US stock markets tumble
All three of the US’s major markets opened to sharp losses on Thursday morning.
The S&P 500 is set for its worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. File pic: AP
By 8.30pm UK time (3.30pm EST), The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.7%, the S&P 500 opened with a drop of 4.4%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 5.6%.
Compared to their values when Donald Trump was inaugurated, the three markets were down around 5.6%, 8.7% and 14.4%, respectively, according to LSEG.
Worst one-day losses since COVID
As Wall Street trading ended at 9pm in the UK, two indexes had suffered their worst one-day losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The S&P 500 fell 4.85%, the Nasdaq dropped 6%, and the Dow Jones fell 4%.
It marks Nasdaq’s biggest daily percentage drop since March 2020 at the start of COVID, and the largest drop for the Dow Jones since June 2020.
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‘Trust in President Trump’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN earlier in the day that Mr Trump was “doubling down on his proven economic formula from his first term”.
“To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say trust in President Trump,” she told the broadcaster, adding: “This is indeed a national emergency… and it’s about time we have a president who actually does something about it.”
Later, the US president told reporters as he left the White House that “I think it’s going very well,” adding: “The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom.”
He later said on Air Force One that the UK is “happy” with its tariff – the lowest possible levy of 10% – and added he would be open to negotiations if other countries “offer something phenomenal”.
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Economist warns of ‘spiral of doom’
The turbulence in the markets from Mr Trump’s tariffs “just left everybody in shock”, Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions in Boston, told Reuters.
He added that the economy could go into recession as a result, saying that “a lot of the pain, will probably most acutely be felt in the US and that certainly would weigh on broader global growth as well”.
Meanwhile, chief investment officer at St James’s Place Justin Onuekwusi said that international retaliation is likely, even as “it’s clear countries will think about how to retaliate in a politically astute way”.
He warned: “Significant retaliation could lead to a tariff ‘spiral of doom’ that could be the growth shock that drags us into recession.”
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It comes as the UK government published a long list of US products that could be subject to reciprocal tariffs – including golf clubs and golf balls.
Running to more than 400 pages, the list is part of a four-week-long consultation with British businesses and suggests whiskey, jeans, livestock, and chemical components.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that the US president had launched a “new era” for global trade and that the UK will respond with “cool and calm heads”.
It also comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a 25% tariff on all American-imported vehicles that are not compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.
He added: “The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership, when it forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect and championed the free and open exchange of goods and services, is over. This is a tragedy.”
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