The man accused of beating Paul Pelosi with a hammer made a phone call on Friday afternoon from jail in which he “apologized” for not getting “more of them.”
David DePape, a 42-year-old with a reported history of mental illness, made the comments in a call to KTVU reporter Amber Lee following the release of the body cam footage showing the police response to the break-in at the Pelosi home.
“I have an important message for everyone in America. You’re welcome. Freedom and 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,” DePape said in the call.
He said that he wanted to speak with “these people” about their bad behavior.
“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.
DePape also claimed that his freedom of speech was being violated and pointed to his own website, which he said contained “stuff they don’t want you to hear.” He made the phone call from San Francisco County Jail, where he is being held. DePape has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and elder abuse.
The suspect, who is reportedly in the U.S. illegally, has been described as a troubled transient and nudist with extreme political views.
Additional security footage and the 911 call Pelosi made were also released on Friday, along with the police body cam footage. The 911 call appeared to show Pelosi subtly attempting to communicate to law enforcement that he was in danger as DePape was allegedly near him in the house.
“There’s a gentleman here just waiting for my wife to come back, Nancy Pelosi,” he said. “He’s just waiting for her to come back, but she’s not going to be here for days, so I guess we’ll have to wait.”
“He thinks everything’s good. I’ve got a problem, but he thinks everything’s good,” Pelosi added.
DePape, who has waived his right to a trial within 60 days, is set to appear in court again on Feb. 23.