Man who attacked Paul Pelosi convicted in California on state charges too
David DePape, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison on federal charges after he broke into Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and bludgeoned her husband, was convicted Friday of five additional charges in a California court.
DePape, 44, was convicted last year on federal charges of attempting to kidnap the then-House speaker in 2022 and assaulting her husband, Paul Pelosi, because of her work in Congress. On Friday, a jury found DePape guilty of separate charges brought by California, including aggravated kidnapping, which mandates life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
DePape was also convicted of first-degree residential burglary; false imprisonment of an elder by violence or menace; threatening the life of a family member of a public official; and dissuading a witness by force or threat.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement that the verdict “delivers justice and ensures that Mr. DePape will face consequences for his heinous crimes against the Pelosi family and our democracy.”
In a statement on behalf of the family, Aaron Bennett, spokesman for Nancy Pelosi, said the family was “in awe of their Pop’s bravery, which shone through again on the witness stand in this trial just as it did 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 statement added.
DePape broke into the home of Nancy Pelosi, among the highest-profile Democratic officials in the country, and attacked her husband with a hammer on Oct. 28, 2022. Paul Pelosi, now 84, was hospitalized with a fractured skull and other injuries after the assault, which left him unconscious. He called 911 after the break-in and was attacked by DePape shortly after police arrived.
DePape, a carpenter who had been living in a converted garage in Richmond, Calif., had immersed himself in right-wing conspiracy theories online. He told the federal jury that he spent his time outside work playing video games and watching YouTube videos about politics.
When he was convicted in the federal case last November, the jury found that he carried out the attack because of Nancy Pelosi’s job in Congress representing a district that includes most of San Francisco. She was his intended target when breaking into the home and a focal point of his beliefs, which included the extremist ideology of the radical QAnon movement, The Washington Post reported.
DePape will be sentenced for the state crimes at a later date. His attorney, Adam Lipson, said he plans to appeal, the Associated Press reported.