THE MAN ACCUSED of attacking the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges when he appeared in a San Francisco court today, US media reported.

David DePape, 42, was ordered to be held in custody after the brief appearance in the city where he is alleged to have assaulted Paul Pelosi in a pre-dawn attack on Friday in the couple’s home.

DePape wore orange jail clothes and spoke only to answer procedural questions during the brief appearance, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Judge Diane Northway signed an order banning DePape from being in contact with the alleged victim or his wife, or from going within 150 yards (meters) of their home.

DePape, of California, was arrested early Friday morning after he allegedly broke into Pelosi’s San Francisco mansion, intending to tie up the powerful politician and break her kneecaps with a hammer if she did not confess to Democratic “lies,” the US Justice Department said in a court filing.

DePape had tape, rope, zip ties and other materials with him, the Justice Department said, but he found only Pelosi’s 82 year old husband, whom he attacked, hitting him in the head with a hammer.

DePape faces charges on both a state and a federal level.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on Monday said he would face charges of attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder as well as threats to a public official and their family.

If convicted on the state charges, DePape would face 13 years to life in prison, according to Jenkins.

Federal authorities on Monday charged DePape with attempting to kidnap a US official and assaulting her family member over her actions in her job.