David DePape found guilty in state trial of attacking Paul Pelosi

A jury in California has found David DePape guilty on all counts in the state trial over the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi after he was convicted at the federal level of the attack in 2022, prosecutors said.

The jury began deliberations in San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon; the court remained closed on Wednesday before reaching a verdict on Friday afternoon.

DePape, 44, was charged with depriving an elderly person of their liberty by force or threat, burglary, threatening a family member of a public official, intimidating a witness by force or threat and aggravated kidnapping. The charges carry a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The verdict will be announced at a later date.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the conviction ensures DePape “will face consequences for his heinous crimes against the Pelosi family and our democracy.”

“I want to thank all of the law enforcement agencies who worked with us to ensure justice is served,” Jenkins said in a statement Friday. “I also want to thank the family for their courage and resilience. I hope this verdict provides them with some measure of closure as they continue to heal from this tragic ordeal.”

DePape’s public defender Adam Lipson said they were disappointed with the verdict.

“I don’t think this was a kidnapping for ransom. I think it’s really unfortunate that he was charged in this way,” Lipson told reporters, adding that his client had led a “very isolated” life and had been “involved in many situations that were reminiscent of conspiracy theories.”

DePape did not testify during the three-week state trial. He had pleaded not guilty.

During the trial, the judge dismissed three other charges initially brought against DePape – attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse – after the defense argued that those charges fell under double jeopardy following the defendants’ conviction in the federal case for attacking the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to the AP.

His public defender had argued that there was not enough evidence to convict DePape of threatening a public servant’s family member and aggravated kidnapping, according to the AP.

“There is no major dispute about the facts of the case, but there are tremendous differences of opinion about which charges are true and which are not,” Lipson told the jury in his closing argument, according to AP.

Assistant District Attorney Phoebe Maffei told jurors in her closing argument that “the bare facts of this case, even without embellishment, are horrifying,” the AP reported.

“David DePape broke into the home of an 82-year-old man while he was sleeping, entered his bedroom, held him hostage with a hammer, threatened him, threatened his wife and attempted to kill him,” Maffei said, according to AP.

According to KGO, Paul Pelosi testified during the state trial that DePape woke him up the night of the attack by asking, “Are you Paul Pelosi?” while carrying a hammer and zip ties.

“He seemed very determined about what he was going to do,” Paul Pelosi said, according to KGO.

Regarding the impact of the attack, Paul Pelosi said, according to KGO, that he has fallen twice since the incident and that it is better for his mental health not to talk about it.

The state verdict follows DePape’s federal conviction in May, when he was found guilty of taking former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and attacking her husband with a hammer.

A judge sentenced DePape to 30 years in federal prison on May 17. However, the sentencing was reinstated after prosecutors determined that the defendant was never formally given the opportunity to address the court during sentencing. At a hearing two weeks later, he was again sentenced to 30 years in prison, during which he apologized for the attack.

“I’m sorry for what I did, especially what I did to Paul Pelosi,” he said during the re-sentencing hearing, according to KGO. “I should have just left the house when I realized Nancy Pelosi wasn’t home.”

DePape’s lawyers filed a brief appeal following his initial conviction in the federal case.

A federal court jury found DePape guilty in November 2023 of attempted kidnapping of a federal officer or employee and assault on an immediate family member of a federal official.

DePape admitted during the federal trial that he was looking for Nancy Pelosi to question her about Russian influence in the 2016 election and that he planned to take her hostage. However, when he broke into her San Francisco home on October 28, 2022, only Paul Pelosi was there.

Paul Pelosi said on the witness stand during the federal trial that DePape repeatedly asked him, “Where is Nancy?”

DePape struck Paul Pelosi, then 82, with a hammer, causing serious injuries including a fractured skull. However, he stated in court that Paul Pelosi was “never my target.”

“I’m sorry he got hurt,” DePape said during the federal trial. “I reacted because my plan was basically ruined.”

The incident was recorded on video using the police body camera by police officers arriving at the scene.

Paul Pelosi was hospitalized for six days after the attack and underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands.