Fox affiliate KTVU in the Bay Area received a call from a San Francisco jail on Friday, reporter Amber Lee reported. She said it was DePape.
“What I did was really bad,” the man said in the audio. “I’m sorry I didn’t get more. … I should have prepared better.
In an interview with her radio station, DePape said that DePape talked non-stop about his perceived enemies, like he was reading a script.
At the start of the nearly six-minute call, Lee said she was told she could record it, but she wasn’t allowed to challenge DePape’s statement or ask follow-up questions because he didn’t want the call to affect his legal case.
Hours earlier, authorities released the evidence, including body camera footage from the night of the attack at Pelosis’ home in the luxurious Pacific Heights community. DePape told Lee he saw the video.
In the video, Paul Pelosi, 82, and DePape can be seen struggling to control a hammer. DePape grabbed the weapon from Paul Pelosi and hit him in the head before officers pinned him to the ground.
Pelosi suffered a fractured skull and severe injuries to her right arm and hands. He spent six days in hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
The attack on Pelosi came days before midterm elections that would see Democrats lose control of the House of Representatives in what was widely seen as an act of political violence. The attacker has said he had intended to kidnap Nancy Pelosi (D), who was then the Speaker of the House but has since resigned from the party leadership.
In a public statement Friday, DePape’s public defender Adam Lipson said the release Body camera footage of Paul Pelosi being disrespectful could fuel baseless theories about the case, jeopardizing DePape’s ability to get a fair trial.
Lipson did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment Sunday morning.
She said on KTVU that Li had tried to contact DePape after his arrest, but Friday’s call was unexpected. Lee and KTVU did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on Sunday morning.
DePape told Lee that American liberties and liberties are being “systematically and deliberately stifled,” and that he has located the “names and addresses” of those he believes are responsible. He wanted to “have a heart-to-heart conversation about their bad behavior”.
The Post confirmed that last August, a blog full of baseless claims and tirades against Jews, black people, the media and transgender people was written under DePape’s name and registered to his former address. The blog also includes pro-Trump and anti-Democrat posts.
After his arrest, DePape told authorities his intention was to “detain and harm Speaker Pelosi,” according to a federal court document. He told investigators she was “the ‘leader’ of the Democratic Party’s lies.” He brought the tie, a roll of duct tape, rope, a diary and a hammer to Pelosi’s residence. Pelosi was not home when DePape came in.
DePape, a Canadian citizen who is in the U.S. illegally, may face deportation once his criminal case is resolved. Relatives told Canadian media that De Papp grew up in British Columbia and it is unclear how he ended up in Northern California.
He was charged in state and federal court with crimes including attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assaulting a federal official’s family. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Reis Thebault, Danielle Paquette, Justine McDaniel and Maria Sacchetti contributed to this report.
