David DePape found guilty on all counts in state trial for attacking Paul Pelosi

SAN FRANCISCO – A state jury on Friday found David DePape guilty on all counts related to his burglary with a hammer of Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi.

DePape was found guilty in the state 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 residential burglary and preventing or deterring a witness by force or threat.

The jury reached a unanimous decision on all five counts, court officials said.

Jury deliberations began Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco. Court officials said the verdict was reached Friday afternoon and announced shortly after 4 p.m. There was no hearing Wednesday because of 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 the Pelosi’s home on October 28, 2022.

Aaron Bennett, spokesman for Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, issued this statement on behalf of the Pelosi family:

“Speaker Pelosi and her family continue to be impressed by her father’s bravery on the witness stand in this trial, just as it was when he saved his own life the night of the attack. For nearly 20 grueling months, Mr. Pelosi has demonstrated extraordinary courage and strength 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.”

Outside the courtroom after the verdict was announced, Lipson questioned the prosecution’s decision to bring charges of kidnapping for ransom after several other charges had been dropped earlier in the trial.

“Obviously I’m disappointed in the verdict. I don’t think this was kidnapping for ransom. I think it’s really unfortunate that the charges were brought the way they were,” Lipson said. “It was a textbook kind of vindictive prosecution. As soon as they found out the attempted murder charge was going to be dropped, they added that charge.”

Earlier this month, the judge in the state trial granted a motion by the defense to dismiss three charges in the case against DePape – attempted murder, assault on an elderly person, and assault with a deadly weapon – based on the public defender’s argument that the charges constituted double jeopardy.

DePape was sentenced last month to 30 years in federal prison after a jury found in November 2023 that he guilty of attempting to take then-Speaker Pelosi hostage and attack her husband in the couple’s villa in Pacific Heights, San Francisco.

The attack on Paul Pelosi, then 82, 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. Just days before the 2022 midterm elections, the incident sent shockwaves through the political world and was attributed to the predictable effects of increasingly demonizing political rhetoric.

Opening statements in the state process began at the end of Mayone day after DePape’s Federal Court conviction reinstated to give him the floor following a procedural error in his original conviction.

Lipson also pointed out that the guilty verdict on all five counts means that after his 30-year sentence in a federal prison, DePape may have to spend the rest of his life in a California prison rather than being deported to Canada.