Paul Pelosi attacker gets life term on state charges
The man who broke into Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D) California home and brutally beat her husband Paul with a hammer was sentenced to life in prison by a San Francisco judge in a Tuesday ruling, according to the Associated Press.
The intruder, David DePape, was also convicted on federal charges in June warranting 30 years in prison which will now be served concurrently with his new charges.
“It’s my intention that Mr. DePape will never get out of prison, he can never be paroled,” Judge Harry Dorfman said before handing down the sentence.
Pelosi has long called for DePape to receive the maximum sentence, stating that he can no longer sleep peacefully in a letter read to the court by his daughter Christine.
Two years after the attack, Paul still suffers from nerve damage in his left hand, dizziness and has a metal plate in his head. The damage was captured on camera and reviewed by the presiding jury and members of the public alike.
Former Speaker Pelosi's office issued a statement sharing that "legal justice" has been served.
"Since the violent break-in and shouts of 'where’s Nancy?' 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," Pelosi's office wrote. "Today’s sentence of life without parole gives our Pop some measure of legal justice and, we hope, a message to others that political violence against elected officials or their family members will not be tolerated, minimized or condoned. We must each do our part to build a peaceful democracy.”
DePape, a Canadian citizen, admitted he was looking for former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and intended to “break her kneecaps” after interrogating her about foreign election interference in 2016. He apologized for hurting Paul Pelosi on the stand in court admitting he was never his “target.”
But according to a local sergeant's testimony, DePape had plans to attack California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), President Biden’s son Hunter Biden and actor Tom Hanks next.
DePape's legal team said he faced significant mental health struggles that were magnified by isolation leading to the 2022 attack on Paul.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Updated at 4:52 p.m. EDT