Man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband sentenced to 30 years in prison

Washington: After more than a year of violent attacks on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, a federal judge sentenced attacker David DePape to 30 years in prison for the attack and 20 years for attempted kidnapping, CNN reported.

Paul Pelosi, the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was attacked with a hammer at his home in California in November 2022 and required surgery for a fractured skull and other serious injuries.

Subsequently, David DePape was accused of entering Pelosi’s San Francisco home, where he attacked House Speaker Paul Pelosi’s husband with a hammer, and was charged with “attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official.”

A federal judge sentenced David DePape to 30 years in prison on Friday after he was convicted of the violent attack in October 2022, CNN reported.

DePape was sentenced to 30 years for assault and 20 years for attempted kidnapping, to run concurrently.

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, who presided over DePape’s trial for the Northern District of California, said she must “ensure that the sentence reflects the seriousness of the offense.”

“He broke into the apartment of an officer and violently attacked his wife. This act is unprecedented,” she said.

However, in November, DePape’s lawyers acknowledged that their client had attacked Paul Pelosi, then 83, but argued that his motivation for the attack was inconsistent with the allegations against him, according to CNN.

While testifying in his own defense, DePape recalled that he was looking for Nancy Pelosi, adding that her husband was not on his list of targets.

He testified that he was “surprised and confused” when he learned that the congresswoman was not home.

“I tell him, ‘I have other goals, but if you stop me, I’m going to go through with you,'” DePape said, recalling a conversation with Paul Pelosi.

DePape added that he responded by hitting Pelosi “over the head” because his plan had been “basically destroyed.”

In his testimony, Pelosi recounted how he woke up from his sleep the night of the attack and saw a man with a hammer in his home, CNN reported.

DePape later asked where his wife was. “She is not here. She’s in Washington,” Pelosi recalled her answer.

Pelosi said he was hit badly in the head after a fight with DePape.

Paul Pelosi stressed that his recovery has been difficult due to periods of dizziness and headaches as he underwent surgery to repair a fractured skull and injuries to his hand and arm, CNN reported.

“I tried my best not to think about it again,” he said at the time.

In a statement filed with the court, Speaker Emerita Pelosi said the attack on her husband “had a devastating impact on three generations of our family.”

“The burglary and violation of our domestic peace has lasting effects,” she added.