California Lawmaker Says He Remembers Man Who Allegedly Attacked Paul Pelosi

California Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) talks with city officials in San Francisco, Calif., on Oct. 22, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

A California lawmaker says he remembers the man who is accused of attacking Paul Pelosi, the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat, said he saw David DePape, the suspect, in the Castro, a neighborhood in San Francisco.

“I do recall him because he was very associated with Gypsy Taub, who was one of the ringleaders [of the nudity protests] from 12 years ago,” Wiener, who used to represent the Castro as a supervisor, told The San Francisco Standard.

“I’ve been aware of him for a long time because he was associated with the public nudity folks in the Castro. It’s a long history with him,” Wiener added to KRON-TV.

Published images show DePape taking part in nudist activities, including the wedding of Taub to another man that featured many participants not wearing clothes.

DePape has taken part in protests against laws that ban being nude in public, according to local news outlets. Wiener sponsored one of the laws.

DePape was taken to a hospital after officers witnessed him striking Paul Pelosi at least once with a hammer inside the Pelosi residence in San Francisco on Oct. 28, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Paul Pelosi was also rushed to a hospital.

DePape was scheduled to be charged with attempted homicide, elder abuse, and other felonies on Monday, according to interim San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.

Police say DePape broke into the Pelosi residence and they received a 911 call from Paul Pelosi, triggering a response at approximately 2:27 a.m. A dispatcher describing the call said Paul Pelosi described the suspect as a friend and said the man was going to wait for Nancy Pelosi.

Taub, meanwhile, said that she was at one time DePape’s partner and that they had several children together.

Taub, who is in prison following a 2021 conviction on abduction charges, said that DePape is mentally ill.

Neighbors said people at the home in which DePape lived would use drugs and said the group was comprised of “very radical activists” who support Black Lives Matter and “gay pride.”

DePape allegedly penned a blog that criticized Democrats, Jews, and COVID-19 vaccines.

Inti Gonzalez, one of DePape’s children, said in a since-deleted social media post that she learned after the attack that DePape wrote a blog. An archived version of that blog showed DePape criticizing the U.S. government and the war in Ukraine.

Gonzalez alleged that DePape abused her siblings when they were young.

It remains unclear whether DePape has retained a lawyer. Taub did not respond to a request for comment.