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A4 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 16 november 2022
Pelosi attack suspect pleads not guilty to federal charges

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Pelosi and DePape fighting
Associated Press over a hammer, the indict-
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — ment alleges. An officer or-
A man accused in last dered DePape to drop the
month’s attack on U.S. hammer but he respond-
House Speaker Nancy Pe- ed, “ummm nope,” before
losi’s husband pleaded not forcefully swinging it at Paul
guilty Tuesday to federal Pelosi, it says.
charges of attempting to The sequence lasted about
kidnap a federal official 15 seconds, it says, but left
and assaulting a federal of- Pelosi and DePape lying on
ficial’s family member. the floor with blood swelling
David DePape, appearing around Paul Pelosi’s head.
in orange clothes without He was treated at a hospi-
handcuffs, was assigned a tal for a fractured skull.
public defender who en- Paul Pelosi told a 911 dis-
tered the plea on his be- patcher that he was sleep-
half during a brief court ap- ing when a man he had
pearance. never seen before entered
DePape, 42, of Richmond, his bedroom looking for
a San Francisco suburb, Nancy Pelosi, who was in
was indicted last week on Washington, D.C. Officers
the federal charges arising later found a broken glass
from an Oct. 28 break-in at door to the back porch.
the Pelosis’ San Francisco David DePape is shown in Berkeley, Calif., on Dec. 13, 2013. Associated Press They recovered zip ties, a
home days before the mid- roll of tape, white rope, a
term elections. The attack drawn to conspiracy theo- a U.S. official with the intent nap a U.S. official on ac- second hammer, and a
on Paul Pelosi happened ries, also has separately to retaliate against the offi- count of the performance pair of rubber and cloth
as threats against lawmak- pleaded not guilty to state cial on account of the per- of official duties. That could gloves.
ers and election officials charges of attempted mur- formance of official duties. bring a maximum 20 years Christine Pelosi, one of
have been at all-time highs der, burglary and elder That carries a maximum in prison. The indictment al- the Pelosis’ children, sat in
and authorities have issued abuse. sentence of 30 years in fed- leges DePape intended to the courtroom during De-
warnings about rising ex- The federal charges in- eral prison. kidnap Nancy Pelosi. Pape’s appearance.
tremism in the U.S. clude assault upon an im- A second charge alleges Officers responding to Paul DePape is being held with-
DePape, a fringe activist mediate family member of DePape attempted to kid- Pelosi’s 911 call found Paul out bail in state custody.q

U.S. agency sued over hands-off decision on Okefenokee mine

By RUSS BYNUM agreed in August to relin- the swamp’s bowl-like rim administration narrowed lawsuit says the Army
Associated Press quish regulatory jurisdiction could damage its ability to the types of waterways Corps’ hands-off agree-
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — over the proposed mine hold water. qualifying for protection ment with Twin Pines con-
Conservation groups filed near the Georgia-Florida “The Corps has stripped the under the Clean Water Act, tradicts the agency’s own
suit Tuesday against a U.S. line. proposed mine site of not prompting the Army Corps internal guidance that says
government agency chal- It’s the latest move by en- only protections provided to declare in 2020 that it no landowners can no longer
lenging its decision to allow vironmentalists seeking to by a Clean Water Act per- longer had jurisdiction over rely on jurisdictional waivers
a mining project to move stop Twin Pines Minerals mit, but also a host of other wetlands on the Twin Pines made under the invalidat-
forward without federal from mining titanium diox- protections guaranteed by project site. ed Trump-era rules.
permits near the edge of ide near the eastern edge federal law,” attorneys for The Army Corps then briefly It also says the decision
the Okefenokee Swamp’s of the Okefenokee Na- the Southern Environmental reasserted authority in June violates the Administra-
vast wildlife refuge. tional Wildlife Refuge. It’s Law Center said in the law- after Trump’s regulatory tive Procedures Act.The
The lawsuit filed in U.S. Dis- the largest refuge east of suit, filed on behalf of four rollbacks were scrapped groups are asking a court
trict Court accuses the the Mississippi River, cover- conservation groups. by federal courts and Presi- to vacate the Army Corps’
Army Corps of Engineers ing 630 square miles (1,630 The Army Corps said it dent Joe Biden’s admin- agreement with Twin Pines.
of contradicting its own square kilometers). Gov- doesn’t comment on istration sought to restore The lawsuit was filed on be-
policies and violating fed- ernment scientists have pending litigation. federal oversight of Twin half of the National Wildlife
eral law when the agency warned that mining near Shifting answers by the Pines’ proposed mine. Refuge Association, the
Army Corps over whether The company responded National Parks Conserva-
the federal government by suing the government. tion Association, Defenders
has regulatory authority In August, the Army Corps of Wildlife and the Center
over the Georgia project agreed to a legal settle- for Biological Diversity.
have vexed Alabama- ment that again let the The sprawling Okefenokee
based Twin Pines and op- planned mine move ahead refuge is home to alliga-
ponents of the planned without its interference. tors, bald eagles and oth-
mine for more than two That’s left Georgia state er protected species. The
years. regulators with sole per- swamp’s wildlife, cypress
That’s because the rules mitting authority over the forests and flooded prairies
have changed twice since project. The state Environ- draw roughly 600,000 visi-
the company began ap- mental Protection Division tors each year, according
An American alligator basks in lily pads besides a wilderness
water trail in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, April 6, plying for mining permits in is still reviewing Twin Pines’ to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
2022, in Fargo, Ga. 2019. permit applications. Service, which manages
Associated Press President Donald Trump’s The conservation groups’ the refuge.q