The man who forcefully entered the residence of former United States Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, two years earlier, attacking her husband ferociously with a hammer, has been handed a life sentence with no chance of parole on Tuesday by a state court judge in San Francisco. This verdict signifies the conclusion of legal proceedings against the man, David DePape, whose actions elicited concerns over politically-charged aggression and highlighted the bitter discord in American politics at the time. Before the 2022 US midterms occurrence, DePape had delved into the internet’s abyss, subscribing to unverified narratives like Pizzagate and QAnon.
Already behind bars for a 30-year term after being found guilty of two federal offences in the previous year: conspiring to abduct a federal officer and violently attacking a close relative of a federal official, 44-year-old DePape was further found guilty of several offences in a state court back in June, bodily harm kidnapping, forcefully confining an elderly person through threats or violence, and first-degree break and enter.
DePape will serve out both his federal and state sentences concurrently at a state penitentiary, as per the San Francisco district attorney’s office. San Francisco’s district attorney, Brooke Jenkins, stated in a release post-sentencing, “There is a necessity for swift action and severe repercussions for those who jeopardise our elected leaders by employing violence as a tool to intimidate and repress them from executing their elected duties. Political violence cannot become commonplace.”
During the sentencing proceeding, DePape digressed into a 45-minute speech, propagating baseless theories surrounding the atrocities of September 11th, and referring to prevalent “evil murder magic rituals” within America, according to a report in The San Francisco Chronicle.
In the early dawn of 28th October, 2022, a crime shook the Pelosi household. DePape, the alleged assailant, broke into the residence armed with a hammer and continuously inquired about the location of Nancy Pelosi. However, Nancy was away in Washington DC during the incident, and DePape instead stumbled upon her husband, Paul Pelosi, at that time aged 82, resting in their bedroom.
Upon the arrival of the police, the struggle between DePape and Mr Pelosi had already reached the home’s entrance, both men wrestling for control of the hammer. It was at this moment that DePape managed to seize control of the weapon and assaulted Mr Pelosi, leaving him sprawled out in a pool of his blood.
Mr Pelosi was promptly rushed into surgery to treat dual skull fractures. In the subsequent state and federal trials of DePape, Mr Pelosi provided testimony regarding the sustained and residual impacts from the injuries inflicted on him. The original report of this shocking event was published in the New York Times in 2024 by The New York Times Company.