In 2022, as tensions rose all over the country, the husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi faced an intruder while she was in Washington.
The Los Angeles Times reported that David DePape “was accused of traveling from his Richmond residence to the Pelosis’ Pacific Heights home in the early morning hours of Oct. 28, 2022, with plans to hold the lawmaker hostage and interrogate her regarding unfounded claims fueled by far-right conspiracy theorists of corruption and child abuse by Democrats and other public figures.
DePape broke into the home, but instead of finding Nancy Pelosi, who was in Washington at the time, he stumbled across the bedroom where her husband was sleeping.
“The door opened and a very large man came in, with a hammer in one hand and some ties in the other hand,” Paul Pelosi testified. “And he said, ‘Where’s Nancy?’ And I think that’s what woke me up.”
He testified he was able to get to his cellphone in the bathroom and dial 911. When the police arrived, the two men were struggling over DePape’s hammer. The prosecutors showed jurors graphic police body-camera video of DePape bludgeoning Paul Pelosi, then 82, fracturing his skull and seriously injuring his right arm and left hand.
U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley came close to siding with the U.S. Probation Office, which recommended a 25-year punishment against David DePape.
Government prosecutors had sought the maximum term of 40 years.
In a statement on Friday, the Pelosi family said they were proud of Paul Pelosi, or “Pop,” and grateful to those who wished him well since the attack.
“The Pelosi family couldn’t be prouder of their Pop and his tremendous courage in saving his own life on the night of the attack and in testifying in this case,” the statement, shared by spokesperson Aaron Bennet, read. “Speaker Pelosi and her family are immensely grateful to all who have sent love and prayers over the last eighteen months, as Mr. Pelosi continues his recovery.”
Last November, federal jurors found DePape guilty of the attempted kidnapping of a federal official and the assault of an immediate family member of a federal official, related to the scary incident.
In April, Pelosi said he is feeling “well” after his recovery from the harrowing ordeal.
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