David DePape, man who attacked Nancy Pelosi's husband, sentenced to life in prison without parole

SAN FRANCISCO -- The antheral who was sentenced to 30 years successful national situation for attacking the hubby of erstwhile House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer successful their California location was sentenced Tuesday to beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole pursuing a abstracted authorities trial.

A San Francisco assemblage successful June recovered David DePape blameworthy of charges including aggravated kidnapping, first-degree burglary and mendacious imprisonment of an elder.

Before issuing the sentence, Judge Harry Dorfman dismissed arguments from DePape's attorneys that helium beryllium granted a caller proceedings for the 2022 onslaught against Paul Pelosi, who was 82 years aged astatine the time.

"It's my volition that Mr. DePape volition ne'er get retired of prison, helium tin ne'er beryllium paroled," Dorfman said portion handing retired the punishment.

One of the defence attorneys, Adam Lipson, asked Dorfman earlier the condemnation was handed down to see DePape's intelligence wellness and isolation that made him susceptible to online propaganda.

"This is simply a antheral who has ever been a peaceful, law-abiding idiosyncratic up until his activation," Lipson said.

David DePape is seen signaling a wedding connected Dec. 19, 2013 successful San Francisco. Surveillance representation connected the close is the onslaught connected Paul Pelosi successful his location connected Oct. 28, 2022.

AP Photo/Eric Risberg and SFPD bodycam footage

When fixed the accidental to code the tribunal anterior to his sentencing, DePape, dressed successful situation orangish and with his brownish hairsbreadth successful a ponytail, spoke astatine magnitude astir Sept. 11 being an wrong job, his ex-wife being replaced by a assemblage double, and his government-provided attorneys conspiring against him.

"I'm a psychic," DePape told the court, speechmaking from sheets of paper. "The much I meditate, the much psychic I get."

In a missive work successful tribunal by the victim's daughter, Christine Pelosi, Paul Pelosi called for the maximum sentence, saying the "last peaceful sleep" helium had ended abruptly "when the suspect violently broke into my home, burst into my chamber and stood implicit my furniture with a hammer and zip ties demanding to spot my wife, yelling 'Where's Nancy?'"

He said the onslaught near him with bumps connected his head, a metallic sheet successful it, dizziness and nervus harm successful his near hand. Sleeping unsocial astatine location evokes memories of the attack, helium said.

Previously, a national assemblage convicted DePape of assaulting a national official's household subordinate and attempting to kidnap a national official. In May, helium was sentenced to 30 years successful national situation during an antithetic resentencing proceeding that resulted from judicial error. The punishment successful the authorities proceedings volition tally concurrently with the national sentence.

DePape's attorneys person said the authorities proceedings amounted treble jeopardy pursuing his national conviction. Even though the transgression counts were not precisely the same, the 2 cases stem from the aforesaid act, they argued. The justice did disregard immoderate of the authorities charges but kept others that were not covered by the national case.

The Oct. 28, 2022, onslaught connected Paul Pelosi was captured connected constabulary assemblage camera video conscionable days earlier the midterm elections and shocked the governmental world. He suffered caput wounds, including a skull fracture that was mended with plates and screws. His close limb and manus were besides injured.

DePape admitted during his national proceedings that helium planned to clasp Nancy Pelosi hostage, grounds his interrogation of her, and "break her kneecaps" if she did not admit to the lies helium said she told astir "Russiagate," a notation to the probe into Russian interference successful the 2016 statesmanlike campaign.