San Francisco:
A man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for attacking the elderly husband of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer, as confirmed by the California state court’s district attorney general’s office. David DePape, who carried out the brutal assault on Paul Pelosi in their San Francisco home, has already been serving a 30-year federal sentence for the crime.
The 44-year-old DePape was convicted on charges of aggravated kidnapping and other offenses, leading to the life sentence without parole by a San Francisco judge, as announced by the district attorney general’s office.
The incident took place in October 2022 when Nancy Pelosi, a prominent Democrat and then second in line to the presidency, was frequently targeted by far-right conspiracy theories. DePape, a Canadian former nudist activist, initially planned to target Nancy Pelosi but encountered her husband instead.
Despite DePape describing the encounter with Paul Pelosi as “pretty amicable,” the husband managed to call for help from law enforcement officers. Upon their arrival, DePape attacked Pelosi with a hammer before being apprehended by the officers. Pelosi suffered a fractured skull and was hospitalized for almost a week, undergoing surgery for his injuries.
Nancy Pelosi was fortunately not present at the time of the attack.
Prior to his sentencing, DePape delivered a disjointed statement touching on conspiracy theories related to 9/11 and “evil magic murder rituals,” without offering an apology to the Pelosi family. His legal team has expressed intentions to appeal the ruling.
San Francisco district attorney Brooke Jenkins emphasized the need for justice in response to the incident, condemning divisive rhetoric that may have fueled the violence. “We must all do our part to stand for justice and the rule of law,” Jenkins stated.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
