The US District Court for the Northern District of California has demonstrated its intolerance for attempts to corrupt democratic process and infringe upon personal safety, sentencing the attacker of the husband of the former US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to thirty years imprisonment. The culprit, David DePape, faced charges for assault and attempted kidnapping.
On October 31, 2022, DePape was charged with attempting to kidnap Nancy Pelosi and assaulting her husband, Paul Pelosi. The indictment presented evidence that DePape had entered Pelosi’s residence and assaulted 82-year-old Paul Pelosi using a hammer. DePape confessed to the police that his intention was to hold Pelosi captive and forcibly extract the “truth” from her, even if it meant resorting to physical harm.
A jury then convicted DePape of his charges on November 17, 2023.
The court’s eventual verdict consisted of concurrent sentences of 20 years for attempted kidnapping and 30 years for the assault on Paul Pelosi, accompanied by five years of supervised release and a fine of $200.
Following the verdict, Pelosi’s spokesperson expressed the family’s relief and gratitude in a statement on Twitter. The family praised the courage exhibited by Paul Pelosi, both during the attack and during the resultant legal proceedings.
US Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey, commenting on the case, emphatically stated in a press release that “Our public servants and their families deserve to work and live without threats and violence.”, reaffirming the core values that democratic societies should hold.