David DePape, the individual who attacked Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer in October 2022, has been found guilty by a jury after a week-long trial.
The verdict comes a little over a year after the incident in which DePape broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home and assaulted Paul, who sustained a fractured skull. DePape, a 43-year-old man with a history of drug abuse and mental illness, was caught on surveillance and police bodycam footage attacking Paul with a hammer.
A federal jury on Thursday convicted the man who attacked Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with a hammer during a break-in at the couple's San Francisco home.
David DePape looked down and showed no emotion as the panel found him guilty of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official.
The unanimous verdicts were reached by the panel of 12, pulled from a pool of 15 jurors and alternate jurors that was comprised of 12 men and three women.
DePape, 43, faces up to life in federal prison and he's still on the hook for state charges — attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary, false imprisonment and threatening the life or serious bodily harm to a public official — connected to the terrifying invasion of Pelosi's Pacific Heights home.
The attack occurred just before the 2022 midterm election and sparked numerous questions and theories surrounding the incident. DePape indicated that he believed in conspiracy theories and was motivated by a desire to stop government corruption and the abuse of children by politicians and actors.
During the trial, DePape’s attorneys argued that his actions were not related to Nancy Pelosi’s political position, but that the defendant was trying to use her to reach University of Michigan professor Gayle Rubin. However, this did not convince the jury.
Paul Pelosi’s testimony gave a detailed and harrowing account of the incident. He described being woken up by DePape, who was carrying a hammer and ties, asking for Nancy Pelosi.
On Monday, Paul took the stand in a San Francisco courtroom to tell his side of the story:
An emotional Paul Pelosi has told a court in San Francisco that he tried not to think or talk about the events of October 28, 2022, when a hammer-wielding David DePape broke in and attacked him.
Pelosi, 83, described the moment he was woken up before dawn on October 28, saying that it was the first time he was telling the story.
'The door opened and a very, very large man came in with a hammer in one hand and some ties in the other hand,' Pelosi told the court, speaking calmly but with emotion in his voice.
Pelosi continued, saying DePape said, "Where's Nancy?" He described his efforts to somehow call 911 without setting off DePape, how they went downstairs where Pelosi hoped he'd be rescued, how DePape threatened to tie him up, and how he was able to finally call for help from the bathroom.
Officers had arrived at the house before Pelosi was attacked, but they were still assessing the situation when DePape suddenly attacked with the hammer. Pelosi remembered "waking up in a pool of blood" and being taken to the hospital.
As DePape awaits sentencing and the possibility of further charges, the case remains a bizarre story.
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