David DePape (right) documents Gypsy Taub’s nude wedding outside San Francisco City Hall on December 19, 2013. DePape is accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s California home and beating her husband with a hammer. DePape is known as a pro-nudity activist in Berkeley, California, where he has appeared naked at protests against a local ordinance requiring people to dress in public.
Eric Riesberg | Associated Press
The man convicted of trying to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attack her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley handed down the sentence for David DePape, 44, who in November was found guilty by jurors of attempted kidnapping of a federal officer and one count of assault on an immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors asked for a 40-year sentence.
DePape was sentenced to 20 years in prison on one count and 30 years in prison on the other. These sentences will run simultaneously. He was also credited with spending 18 months in custody.
Depapu Admitted while testifying during trial On October 28, 2022, he broke into Pelosis’ San Francisco home, intending to take the speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps” if she lied to him. He also admitted to beating Paul Pelosi with a hammer after police showed up and said his plan to end what he saw as government corruption was unraveling.
The attack on Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time Police body camera video Just days before the midterm elections and sent Shockwaves sweeping through the political world.
Defense attorneys argued that DePape was motivated by his political beliefs and not because he wanted to interfere with Nancy Pelosi’s official duties as a member of Congress, thereby invalidating the charges against him.
One of his lawyers, Zhuang Anqi said in her closing speech DePape became embroiled in conspiracy theories.
David Wayne DePape appears in San Francisco Superior Court to attend the trial against Paul Pelosi, husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on November 15, 2022 in San Francisco, California Paul Pelosi’s preliminary hearing on state charges in the attack.
Vicki Behringer Reuters
DePape, a Canadian who immigrated to the United States more than two decades ago, testified at the trial that he believed the news media repeatedly lied to former President Trump. DePap, whose comments on blogs and online forums were deleted after his arrest, echoed the baseless right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory that the U.S. government is composed of a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles. .
DePape also told jurors he planned to don an inflatable unicorn costume and record his interrogation of a Democratic spokesman who was not home at the time of the attack and upload it online.
Prosecutors say he had a rope zIntellectual Property Rights Contact Detectives found body cameras, a computer and a tablet on him.
Paul Pelosi also testified During the trial, he recalled how he was awakened by a large man bursting into the bedroom and asking: “Where is Nancy?” He said that when he replied that his wife was in Washington, DePape Said he would tie him up while they waited for her.
“When I realized someone was breaking into the house, I was in shock, and looking at him, looking at the hammer and the tie, I realized I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay calm,” Pelosi told jurors. .
DePape also was charged in state court with assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and other felonies. Jury selection for the trial is expected to begin Wednesday.
Paul Pelosi suffered two head injuries in the attack, including a skull fracture, which he repaired with plates and screws that will live with him for the rest of his life. He also suffered injuries to his right arm and hand.
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