State case against man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband is in the hands of the jury

As of midday Tuesday, the jury was deliberating DePape’s fate on five counts: burglary, false imprisonment of an elderly person, threatening a public official, kidnapping and intimidation of a witness. Dorfman dismissed three other counts – attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse – after the defense successfully argued that DePape had already been charged with those crimes in federal court, where he was found guilty last month and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

In their closing arguments, both the prosecution and the defense portrayed DePape, 44, as someone who had immersed himself too deeply in the world of YouTube conspiracy theories and had come to believe that the government was corrupt and that Hollywood was involved in a major pedophile ring.

In response, DePape went to the Pelosi’s San Francisco home after 2 a.m. on October 28, 2022, to look for the House Speaker. He used a hammer to break down the ground-floor patio door and used his 6-foot-4, 300-pound frame to push open a heavy wooden door, breaking through the doors of the couple’s third-floor bedroom, where only Paul Pelosi was sleeping, according to court testimony.

“Where is Nancy?” DePape said, according to Paul Pelosi.

Prosecutors replayed the 911 call Paul Pelosi made on the speakerphone in her bedroom bathroom. Assistant San Francisco District Attorney Phoebe Maffei told the jury that events made more sense now that they knew all the details from those early morning hours.

“My name is David,” DePape said on the phone.

“Who is David?” asked the emergency operator.

“I don’t know,” said Paul Pelosi. “He says he’s a friend, but he’s not.”

Prosecutors repeatedly played bodycam video from two Capitol Police officers who drove to the House after Paul Pelosi made a 911 call and saw Pelosi and DePape standing side by side, trying to control a claw hammer in DePape’s hands.

“Drop the hammer,” said an officer.

“Nope,” DePape replied before hitting Pelosi several times.

Jurors heard testimony from investigators and received transcripts of DePape’s testimony during his federal trial, in which a jury found him guilty in November.

Maffei said DePape had been planning a “killing spree” with a list of targets for months and showed up at Pelosi’s home “ready for a long standoff.” DePape wanted to confront Pelosi and question her about “Russiagate,” an online conspiracy theory about the investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election.

DePape took a sledgehammer to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s house with one goal in mind, Maffei said: “He wanted to break her kneecaps so she could be shoved into Congress. So people would know there were consequences.”