David DePape, the man who hit Paul Pelosi in the head with a hammer in his home on October 28, 2022, was sentenced this Friday to 30 years in prison. The sentence is less than what had been requested by prosecutors, who were seeking 40 years in prison for the crimes of attempted kidnapping of the then president of the House of Representatives and for attacks on a relative of a federal official. The 44-year-old man received 20 years of punishment for one and 30 years for the second, sentences that he will serve at the same time. The 18 months he has been behind bars after being detained inside the Pelosi residence in San Francisco have also been deducted.
DePape looked at the floor as he listened to the judge hand down the sentence. The robe underlined the “unprecedented” attack committed by the subject, a Canadian man who had descended the spiral of right-wing conspiracy theories. That night he arrived at the Pelosi residence with the intention of taking the speaker emeritus of the House of Representatives hostage to subject her to an interrogation to expose the alleged corruption of the Government. Paul Pelosi woke up that morning and saw next to his bed the thick silhouette of a man who shouted “where is Nancy?” DePape had broken a window to enter the residence. He had with him a rope and plastic handcuffs. Nancy Pelosi was in Washington.
Christine Pelosi, the 84-year-old daughter of the veteran Democratic politician, read a message before the sentencing in which she conveyed how the violent incident affected her family. “We couldn’t be more proud of Dad and his tremendous bravery in saving his life the night of the attack and for testifying in this case,” she said. Christine thanked the expressions of affection received since then and assured that her father is following her recovery after the blow that caused a fracture to her skull and for which she needed a plate and screws.
“The shock was tremendous,” Paul Pelosi said during the trial in November last year. “I realized I was in serious danger, but I tried to stay calm as much as I could,” he added from the stand. Pelosi, 84, tried to remain calm that night even though the intruder had a hammer in his hand. He called the emergency number while DePape watched him and ordered him to tell authorities that he was his friend.
DePape’s defense, made up of public lawyers, had requested a 14-year sentence for their client. During the trial, lawyers argued that the attack had been motivated by her political beliefs and that it was not intended to interfere with Pelosi’s duties as a member of Congress. With this they sought to reduce the seriousness of the charges, filed for acts of violence against a federal public servant.
DePape, who has been in the United States for more than 20 years, was a frequent consumer of right-wing media. He believed that the media continually lied about Donald Trump, an opinion he angrily expressed in several blog posts and online forums, entries that were deleted after the attack. He was also a supporter of the QAnon cult, which believes that Washington’s political leadership worships the devil and traffics children from a Washington pizzeria. That October night, the intruder planned to break Pelosi’s knees if he did not admit on camera the corruption plot in which Trump supporters believe.
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