David DePape’s state trial on charges related to the 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi is underway after DePape was convicted in his federal trial for the hammer attack.
Opening statements are expected to begin Wednesday in the case involving the break-in and attack at Pelosis San Francisco residence. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was not home at the time.
DePape, 44, was charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary of a residence, elder abuse, false imprisonment and threatening death or serious injury to a public official. He pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, he faces 13 years to life in prison, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
The state trial follows his conviction in the federal case, where he was found guilty of attempting to take former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and attacking her husband with a hammer.
In this screenshot from a police body camera released by the San Francisco Police Department, Paul Pelosi, the husband of Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, is shown with his attacker, David DePape, at the Pelosi home in San Francisco, October 28. 2022.
San Francisco Police Department
A judge sentenced DePape to 30 years in federal prison on May 17. However, the sentence was reopened after prosecutors noted that the defendant was never formally given the opportunity to address the court during his sentencing. He was again sentenced to 30 years in prison at a hearing Tuesday, during which he apologized for the attack.
“I’m sorry for what I did,” he said, according to San Francisco’s ABC station KGO. “Especially what I did to Paul Pelosi. I should have left the house when I realized Nancy Pelosi wasn’t there.”
DePape’s lawyers filed a brief notice of appeal after his initial conviction in the federal case.
A jury found him guilty in November 2023 of attempting to kidnap a federal official or employee and assaulting a member of the immediate family of a federal official.
DePape admitted during the federal trial that he was looking for Nancy Pelosi to question her about Russian influence on the 2016 election and planned to hold her hostage, but only Paul Pelosi was at home when he broke in on October 28, 2022.
Paul Pelosi testified on the stand during the federal trial that DePape repeatedly asked him, “Where’s Nancy?”
DePape hit Paul Pelosi, then 82, with a hammer, causing serious injuries including a fractured skull, but told the court he was “never my target.”
David DePape in Berkeley, California on December 13, 2013.
Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
“I’m sorry he was hurt,” DePape said during the federal trial. “I reacted because my plan was basically ruined.”
The incident was captured on police body camera by officers who responded to the scene.
Paul Pelosi was hospitalized for six days and underwent surgery to repair a fractured skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hands.
ABC News
