Man who attacked Nancy Pelosi's husband sentenced to life in prison without parole
Paul Pelosi was hospitalised for six days following the attack and underwent surgery to repair a fractured skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hands
The man who broke into the home of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacked her husband with a hammer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Tuesday after a state trial.
A San Francisco jury in June found David DePape guilty on multiple charges, including aggravated kidnapping, first-degree burglary and false imprisonment of an elder.
DePape was also found guilty on federal charges of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official in November of 2023. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison on those charges.
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DePape will serve his life sentence on state charges concurrently with his federal sentence.
On October 28, 2022, DePape broke into the Pelosi home in San Francisco looking for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with the intention of kidnapping her and holding her hostage.
DePape asked for Mrs Pelosi, who was not at home, when he confronted the lawmaker's husband inside the property.
When police arrived at the property they found Mr Pelosi and DePape both holding a hammer, but it was wrestled from Mr Pelosi's control and he was violently assaulted with it in front of police officers. Mr Pelosi was struck three times during the attack and suffered a fractured skull along with injuries to his arm and hand.
The officers tackled the assailant and disarmed him, before requesting backup and giving medical aid.
In a letter to San Francisco County Judge Harry Dorfman, Mr Pelosi said he has continued physical and mental impacts -- including trouble balancing and headaches nearly every day -- and that his family was "traumatised" by the attack.
"Since the violent break-in and shouts of 'where's Nancy?' echoing in my bedroom two years ago, not a day goes by that we do not think of this devastating assault, its trauma -- or the possibility of future attacks," he said in the letter. "For these reasons, my entire family joins me in requesting that you sentence the defendant to the fullest extent the law provides."
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