California court convicts man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband

A California state court on Friday found the right-wing conspiracy theorist David DePape guilty on several counts of assault Paul Pelosithe husband of the former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosiwith a hammer.
DePape was sentenced last year to 30 years in a federal prison for attempted kidnapping and assault of an immediate family member of a federal official.
The state’s charges against DePape carry a possible sentence of up to life in prison, which could be added to his existing sentence in a federal prison.
DePape broke into the Pelosi’s home in San Francisco on October 28, 2022 and hit Paul Pelosi on the head with a hammer while Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, still serving as Speaker of the House.
Paul Pelosi suffered serious injuries, including skull fractures and wounds to his hands and right arm that required hospitalization and surgery. Evidence presented in the federal case showed that DePape was motivated by right-wing conspiracy theories, including QAnon, Holocaust denial and political accusations against Hunter Biden and George Soros.
Meanwhile, DePape’s defense attorneys focused on his mental state and how he was obsessed with conspiracy theories rather than challenging the evidence.
DePape told the jury that his original plan was to kidnap and interrogate Nancy Pelosi and break her kneecaps if he found out she was lying. However, when he broke in, he found her husband instead and attacked him because his plan went awry. “He was never my target and I’m sorry he got hurt,” DePape said.