The Department of Justice is seeking a 40-year prison sentence against the man who broke into former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and assaulted her husband Paul Pelosi.
A jury convicted David DePape in November of the attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on an immediate family member of a federal official.
“Here, it is not the public that needs protecting, but the public officials. Our public officials should not live in fear of their lives, but attacks like the defendant’s breed fear and dissuade people from running for office or otherwise taking roles in the public sphere,” the prosecutors said. “At this moment in time, this defendant continues to present as a strong risk—to the Speaker Emerita and others—because of his failure to accept responsibility.”
In October 2022, Paul was brutally attacked in the couple’s San Francisco home early in the morning.
“The assailant is in custody and the motivation for the attack is under investigation,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammil said in a statement.
Pelosi “was taken to the hospital, where he received medical care. The Speaker was not in San Francisco at the time,” Hammill continued.
The suspect used a hammer in the attack, and “the motivation for the attack is still under investigation,” according to The U.S. Capitol Police who are assisting the case.
In January 2023, Nancy Pelosi said she was not interested in seeing police body camera footage that was released detailing the attack.
“As you know, today there was a release of some information,” Nancy Pelosi said at the time, according to The Hill. “I have not heard the 911 call, I have not heard the confession, I have not seen the break-in and I have absolutely no intention of seeing the deadly assault on my husband’s life.”
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy ruled there was no reason to keep the footage secret from the Oct. 28 incident, especially after prosecutors played it in open court during a preliminary hearing last month.
The footage showed officers arriving at the Pelosi home. The door opens to show Paul Pelosi, 82, standing next to a man, later identified as David DePape. Both men have a hand on a hammer and DePape appears to have restrained Pelosi’s right arm. Pelosi breaks free and DePape starts swinging the hammer at him.
Pelosi, apparently unconscious, could be seen lying face down on the floor as police move in to restrain and handcuff DePape, who is pinned to the ground. Pelosi underwent surgery for a fractured skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hands.
“It’s with a grateful heart and on behalf of my entire family that we continue to thank people for all of their prayers that they continue to send us, asking about the progress my husband is making, and he is making progress but it’ll take more time,” said Nancy Pelosi, 82, who was in Washington at the time of the attack.
“I won’t be making any more statements about this case as it proceeds, except to again thank people and inform them of Paul’s progress. But that will be the end of what I’ll say about the case.”