Man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband found guilty of kidnapping, faces life in prison | US News

David DePape had previously been sentenced to 30 years in prison by a federal judge after breaking into the home of leading Democrat Nancy Pelosi and beating her husband to death with a hammer, causing him serious injuries.

A man who brutally attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer and served a 30-year prison sentence for it has also been convicted of kidnapping and could spend the rest of his life in prison.

David DePape was sentenced by a federal judge last month to 30 years in federal prison after he was found guilty of attacking Paul Pelosi, the husband of the Democratic leader, in 2022.

On Friday, a jury in San Francisco also found DePape guilty of first-degree burglary, false imprisonment of an elderly person, threatening a family member of a public official, intimidating a witness to the prosecution and aggravated kidnapping.

DePape was previously convicted of assaulting a family member of a federal official and attempting to kidnap a federal official.

The attack on Mr Pelosi was captured on police bodycam video just days before the 2022 midterm elections and shocked US politics.

The then 82-year-old suffered two head injuries, including a skull fracture that required plates and screws.

In a statement, Ms Pelosi’s office said: “Speaker Pelosi and her family remain impressed by her father’s courage, which was once again evident on the witness stand in this trial, just as it was when he saved his own life on the night of the attack.”

“For nearly 20 grueling months, Mr. Pelosi has demonstrated extraordinary courage and fortitude every day of his recovery.”

DePape’s public defender, Adam Lipson, said he intends to appeal the ruling.

He described the prosecution’s decision to bring charges of kidnapping for ransom during the trial as “vindictive.”

Mr Lipson said: “It’s really unfortunate that it was charged in this way. It was something of a textbook vindictive prosecution.”

“As soon as they learned that the attempted murder charge was going to be dropped, they added that charge.”

Mr Lipson had previously successfully argued that the state proceedings amounted to double jeopardy following the federal conviction and that the cases, although in different courts, arose from the same offense.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman agreed and dismissed the state’s charges of attempted murder, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon.

Another judge upheld the decision on appeal.

Mr Lipson said the state’s ruling meant that after DePape served his 30-year sentence in federal prison, he would be transferred to a California prison “to spend the rest of his life there.”

In his closing argument, he told the jury that the prosecution had failed to prove that DePape kidnapped Pelosi with the intent to “extort money or anything of value from another person,” which was an essential part of the charge.

However, Assistant District Attorney Phoebe Maffei pointed out that DePape told a detective and testified in federal court that he planned to obtain a video of Ms. Pelosi confessing to alleged crimes and post it online.

Ms Maffei said: “There is inherent value in a video of the Speaker of the House confessing to crimes in her own home.”

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Earlier this week, Ms. Maffei detailed the attack in which DePape broke into the politician’s home, entered his bedroom, “held him hostage with a hammer, threatened him, threatened his wife and tried to kill him.”

During the trial, the jury was also told that DePape had led a lonely, isolated life and had “descended into the rabbit hole of propaganda and conspiracy theories.”

During the week, the judge also removed DePape’s former partner from the audience, accusing her of attempting to influence the jury.

Gypsy Taub handed out notes outside the courtroom with the address of a conspiracy theory website.

Additionally, cards were found in a nearby ladies’ restroom with the website address scrawled on the wall.