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Man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband with hammer sentenced

Theo

Washington:

A state jury has found David DePape guilty on all counts related to his burglary and hammer attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, CBS News reported.

DePape was found guilty at trial on five counts, including aggravated kidnapping causing bodily harm or death, false imprisonment of an elderly or dependent person, threatening the family of a public official, first-degree burglary of a home, and preventing or deterring a witness by force or threat.

According to court officials, the jury reached a unanimous verdict on all five counts. The jury began deliberations Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco.

Court officials said the verdict was reached Friday afternoon and would be announced shortly after 4 p.m. local time. There was no hearing on Wednesday due to the Juneteenth holiday.

In his closing argument, San Francisco Public Defender Adam Lipson said DePape led a lonely life and “descended down the rabbit hole of propaganda and conspiracy theories” when he broke into Nancy Pelosi’s apartment on Oct. 28, 2022, CBS News reported.

Nancy Pelosi’s spokesman Aaron Bennett spoke on behalf of the Pelosi family. Bennett said, “Speaker Pelosi and her family continue to be impressed by her father’s courage, which was once again evident on the witness stand in this trial, just as it was when he saved his own life on the night of the attack.”

“For nearly 20 grueling months, Mr. Pelosi has demonstrated extraordinary courage and fortitude every day of his recovery. The Pelosi family is grateful for the kind thoughts and prayers they continue to receive. Speaker Pelosi and her family will refrain from further substantive comment until the verdict is announced,” he added.

David DePape was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison in May after a jury found him guilty in November 2023 of taking then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and attacking her husband at their San Francisco residence, CBS News reported.

The attack on Paul Pelosi was captured on police bodycam video after officers responded to his 911 call and found him struggling with DePape, who then beat Pelosi to death with a hammer.

The incident occurred just before the 2022 midterm elections, sent shockwaves through politics and was attributed to the predictable effects of increasingly demonic political rhetoric.

Opening arguments in the state case began in May, a day after DePape’s sentencing was reinstated in federal court to give him a chance to speak after a procedural error occurred in his original sentencing, CBS News reported.

Earlier this month, the judge in the state trial granted a defense motion to dismiss three charges in DePape’s case, including attempted murder, assault on an elderly person and assault with a deadly weapon. The motion was made on the grounds that the charges amounted to double jeopardy.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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