44-year old David Depape has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for assault charge and 20 years for the attempted kidnapping charge which will run concurrently, following the crime he committed more than a year and a half ago.
On October 28, 2022, Depape broke into the house of Paul Pelosi, husband of then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco, California and attacked Mr. Pelosi.
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley.
Ahead of this, Mrs. Pelosi had written a letter asking the court to hand down a “very long” sentence for Depape. But Depape was given credit for the 18 months he has been in custody.
To add, prosecutors had also asked for a 40-year prison term before the us district judge had decided on the 44-year old’s fate.
On Friday, May 17th, U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey issued a video statement regarding the verdict on Depape highlighting that political discourse must never transform into violence.
“Today’s sentence reflects David Depape’s lack of remorse or contrition for violently assaulting Mr. Pelosi. The court’s sentence will ensure that DePape will not be able to use violence to pollute the political process. Robust, passionate political debate is appropriate, and often necessary in our democracy. But today’s sentence is a stern reminder that political discourse must never transform into violence. My office will not tolerate violence as a substitute for political debate,” said Atty. Ismail Ramsey, Northern District of California.
The evidence at trial established that weeks before the attack, Depape targeted Nancy Pelosi and collected personal information about her, including her home address. Depape intended to kidnap the then-speaker, hold her hostage, and break her kneecaps.
The trial evidence demonstrated that on the night of the assault, Depape used public transportation to travel from the east bay to San Francisco while carrying two backpacks that contained a hammer, sledgehammer, duct tape, rope, zip ties, and electronic items, among other items.
After arriving at the Pelosi residence, Depape used the hammer to break the window of a glass door and enter the home.
At the time, Mrs. Pelosi was not home and her husband, Paul Pelosi, was sleeping on the third floor.
Police officers arrived at the couple’s home after responding to a 911 call. when authorities arrived at the scene, Depape had been asked to drop the weapon that he was holding in his hand. However, he struck Mr. Pelosi with it instead, before being wrestled to the ground by officers. the entire incident was caught on body worn cameras.
It can be remembered that the politically motivated attack left Paul Pelosi, now 84 years old, in hospital for six days with a fractured skull and other injuries.
Until now, Mrs Pelosi claims that she and her husband have not yet been able to discuss the incident since it happened.
