Prosecutors ask for 40 years for man who attacked Paul Pelosi with hammer
Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to give David DePape a 40-year prison sentence for breaking in to former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home in 2022 in an attempt to kidnap her, and “nearly killing” her husband with a hammer.
The request was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle late Friday before a sentencing hearing for DePape, scheduled for 17 May.
DePape was convicted last year of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official.
According to court documents, the Chronicle reported, DePape has not shown remorse for the attack and “seemed proud of what he had accomplished”.
“There is nothing about the history and characteristics of the defendant that warrant leniency,” federal prosecutors wrote in court documents. “The defendant has admitted – indeed bragged – that he knew what he was doing.”
The “traumatic” hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, then 82, on 28 October 2022 – days before the midterm elections – was captured on police body-camera video and sent shockwaves through the political world.
Prosecutors called DePape’s attack an act of terrorism. DePape admitted during trial testimony that he had broken in to the former speaker’s house with the intent to hold her hostage and “break her kneecaps if she lied to him”. He also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer after police showed up at the home, telling them his plan to end what he viewed as government corruption was unraveling.
During the trial, defense attorneys argued that DePape had been caught up in conspiracy theories that led him to commit the crimes. He has a documented history of promoting conspiracy theories and far-right messages. On Facebook, he shared videos that falsely claimed the 2020 election had been stolen from Donald Trump, and misinformation about the January 6 insurrection.
In court, DePape cried when he talked about his political beliefs, explaining how he came to support baseless narratives that a cabal of pedophiles were behind the US government. He also said he had wanted to talk to Nancy Pelosi about the 2016 election, and that he had intended to question her while wearing an inflatable unicorn costume and planned to record the interrogation to upload to the internet.
Prosecutors said that DePape smashed through a door of the Pelosis’ San Francisco home at 2am and encountered a sleeping Paul Pelosi. He stood over Paul Pelosi with zip ties and a hammer asking: “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?” Nancy Pelosi was not at the home at the time of the attack.
Paul Pelosi managed to call police and, when they arrived, DePape hit Paul Pelosi in the head with the hammer, knocking him unconscious. Paul Pelosi was hospitalized with a skull fracture and injuries to his hands and arm. Part of the incident was captured on police body-camera footage, and an FBI agent testified that the video indicated DePape had hit Pelosi at least three times.
Paul Pelosi suffered two wounds on his head, including the skull fracture, which was mended with plates and screws he will have for the rest of his life.
“It was a tremendous shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house, and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible,” Paul Pelosi recounted to jurors.
During the trial, DePape said of Paul Pelosi: “He was never my target and I’m sorry that he got hurt.