We are now learning that noted local nudist activist Gypsy Taub was among the people that accused Paul Pelosi attacker David DePape had on a list of targets in what was apparently some sort of suicide-mission spree.
Tuesday was the fourth day of the state trial of David DePape, which kicked off last Wednesday with opening statements from the prosecution and defense.
DePape has essentially confessed to the crime of bludgeoning 82-year-old Paul Pelosi with a hammer in October 2022, an attack that was captured on SFPD body-worn cameras as two officers stood in the doorway of the Pelosis' Pacific Heights home. And he was convicted in federal court late last year and recently sentenced to 30 years for those federal crimes.
In the state case, DePape's defense attorneys are trying to argue down some of the worst charges against DePape, including attempted murder, arguing that the never intended to kill Mr. Pelosi — though it's unclear what his entire intentions were if Nancy Pelosi had been home at the time of his break-in. (At the federal trial, prosecutors said he intended to kidnap the former Speaker of the House, hold her hostage, and break her kneecaps if she continued "lying" to him.)
In trial testimony Tuesday, jurors heard from FBI Special Agent Stephanie Minor about what the FBI found in serving a search warrant at DePape's residence, and from SFPD Sgt. Nathaniel Yuen, who works in the department's special investigations division.
The Chronicle reports that Special Agent Minor relayed some details we had not heard previously about DePape's web searches. Specifically, he had apparently been Googling images from grisly 1920s murder scenes — which ones?! — and he also searched for "Nancy Pelosi pig blood."
It's been established through earlier court documents and proceedings that DePape, who was reportedly not mentally stable, was radicalized to right-wing conspiracy theories while living in a friend's garage in Richmond and having internet for the first time in several years. This was after years of believing in more left-wing conspiracy-type stuff with his former partner Taub, who also had two children with him.
Sidebar: While Taub has admitted DePape's mental illness and other troubles, she has taken to protesting his prosecution, and started a blog called PaulPelosiCoverup.com. Always a fan of homemade video, Taub has a video series, and she and her son Daniel Gonzalez, who is also DePape's son, have been attending the state trial. Below you can hear some of Taub's theories of the case, which of course lean into a conspiracy all their own — Taub doesn't believe the police body-worn camera video shows Pelosi being hit in the head, as a for instance, and she disbelieves other evidence.
Sgt. Yuen testified today, per the Chronicle, that DePape's list of "targets," which we'd heard about not long after his arrest, including Taub, along with Governor Gavin Newsom, Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Adam Schiff, Hunter Biden, and left-wing philanthropist and political donor George Soros, who has been the subject of many conspiracy theories online — and some especially antisemitic ones.
There was also a target who is now only listed in court documents as "Target 1," whom DePape referred to as a "pedo-activist."
Investigators found that DePape had been using a website called Spokeo to conduct searches for the home addresses of these figures.
While DePape remained defiant in the weeks and months after the October 2022 attack, he has since changed his tune, at least in court. He infamously gave a jailhouse interview to KTVU in January 2023 in which he "apologized" to the American people for "not getting more of them," meaning his targets. But in his federal trial, he appeared to express remorse for severely injuring Mr. Pelosi, and said he was never an intended target.
In state court DePape stands accused of assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse, in addition to attempted murder and other charges.
Previously: David DePape Offers Apology at Second Sentencing, Says He's Doing Better Mentally
Photos courtesy of Gypsy Taub and Daniel Gonzalez