Paul Pelosi testifies about hammer attack in his San Francisco home

WASHINGTON - Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on Monday testified against the hammer-wielding attacker accused of breaking into the couple’s home last year and assaulting him.

Paul Pelosi, 83, said he was asleep when the door to his bedroom opened and the suspect, 43-year-old David DePape, came in with a hammer and zip ties, according to the Associated Press. The suspect allegedly broke in and asked, “where’s Nancy?” The attack took place in the early morning hours of Oct. 28, 2022.

“It was a tremendous sense of shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible,” Pelosi told jurors.

He told DePape that his wife was in Washington, D.C., and DePape allegedly said he would tie him up until she returned, the AP reported.

“We had some conversation with him saying she was the leader of the pack, he had to take her out, and that he was going to wait for her,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi recalled how DePape let him enter the bathroom, where he grabbed his cell phone and called 911. The two also managed to make their way downstairs.

Police body camera footage shows that when police arrived at the scene, both men were fighting over the hammer. DePape took the hammer away from Pelosi and “violently assaulted” him.

Pelosi testified that he woke up in a pool of his blood. He was admitted to the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where he underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and injuries to his right arm and hands, Drew Hammill, Nancy Pelosi's spokesman, said in a statement last year.

DePape had been working carpentry jobs to support himself and allegedly had other suspects, including President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the AP reported. He pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paul Pelosi testifies about hammer attack in San Francisco home