David DePape, convicted of attacking Nancy Pelosi’s husband, is sentenced to 30 years in prison

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The man who broke into the home of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to take her hostage and bludgeoned her husband to death with a hammer was sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday.

The attack on the then 82-year-old Paul Pelosi was captured on police camera video Just days before the 2022 midterm elections and sent Shock waves through the political world. He suffered two head wounds, including a fractured skull, which was repaired with plates and screws that he will wear for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.

A jury found 44-year-old David DePape guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal officer and assault on an immediate family member of a federal officer. The public prosecutor had demanded a prison sentence of 40 years.

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley sentenced DePape to 20 years for attempted kidnapping and 30 years for assault – the maximum sentence in both cases. The sentences will run simultaneously. He was also credited for the 18 months he spent in custody.

DePape stood silently as he was sentenced, sometimes looking down. His public defenders had asked the judge to sentence him to 14 years, pointing out that at the time of the attack he was in a difficult period of his life, had undiagnosed mental health problems and had no criminal record.

At trial, DePape testified that he planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and record his interrogation of the Democratic speaker, who was not at her San Francisco home at the time of the attack, to upload online.

Before the verdict was announced, Angela Chuang, one of his defense lawyers, asked the judge to consider prison sentences for those involved January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

“The five most severe sentences for people convicted of seditious conspiracy, which is literally conspiring to overthrow the government, are between 15 and 22 years,” Chuang said.

Corley said the Jan. 6 analogy does not adequately reflect the seriousness of a break-in at an officer’s private home. The attack could have a chilling effect on future office seekers, she said.

“You have to ask yourself not only, ‘Am I willing to take this risk myself, but am I willing to take the risk for my spouse, my children, my grandchildren?'” the judge said.

Prosecutors sought the maximum sentence in each case and asked that DePape serve 10 years concurrently, which would give him a prison sentence of 40 years.

Before the sentencing, Christine Pelosi read victim impact statements from her father and mother, explaining how the violent attack changed her life. In Paul Pelosi’s statement, he explained that 18 months after the attack, he still had headaches and dizziness and had fainted and fallen twice at home.

“When you are attacked in such a public and political manner and with such threatening language, one must always fear a copycat,” Nancy Pelosi said in her statement. “When I encourage people, especially women, to consider running for office, physical threats to the family shouldn’t even be a factor, but they are.”

Both Paul and Nancy Pelosi said there were still blood stains on the floor and other signs of the break-in in their home.

“Our home remains a heartbreaking crime scene,” Nancy Pelosi wrote.

DePape admitted as a witness during the trial that he broke into the Pelosi home on October 28, 2022, intending to take the speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps” if she lied to him. He also admitted to beating Paul Pelosi to death with a hammer after police showed up and said his plan to end what he saw as government corruption had faltered.

Defense attorneys argued that DePape was motivated by his political beliefs and not because he wanted to interfere with Nancy Pelosi’s official duties as a member of Congress, making the charges against him moot.

Chuang, one of his lawyers, said during closing arguments that DePape was estranged from his family and involved in conspiracy theories.

Sky Gonzalez, David DePape’s son, told reporters outside court that the 30-year sentence was tantamount to a death sentence.

“I find that quite sad. I think that’s a really long time, because if you think about it, he’s almost 50. Basically, it’s just a death sentence,” Gonzalez said, before repeating the same conspiracy theories his father had written about before the attack .

At trial, DePape, a Canadian who moved to the United States more than 20 years ago, testified that he believed news outlets had repeatedly lied about former President Donald Trump. In tirades posted on a blog and online forum that were removed after his arrest, DePape reiterated the baseless, right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory that the U.S. government is run by a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles.

Prosecutors said he had rope and e.gIP ties Investigators found body cameras, a computer and a tablet on his person.

Paul Pelosi recalled in the process how he was awakened by a large man who burst into the bedroom and asked, “Where’s Nancy?” He said that when he replied that his wife was in Washington, DePape said he would tie him up while they waited for her .

“It was a huge shock when I realized someone had broken into the house and when I looked at him and looked at the hammer and cable ties I realized I was in serious danger so I tried to be as calm as possible “It’s possible to stay,” Pelosi told the jury.

DePape also faces charges in state court of assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other crimes. Jury selection in that trial is expected to begin Wednesday.