The Justice Department is seeking a 40-year sentence for David DePape under a 'terrorism enhancement' in connection to the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi at his and his wife, Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s California home. Federal prosecutors filed a memo in the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, expressing disagreement with the Probation Office’s decision not to apply the terrorism enhancement. DePape showed 'no remorse' after the attack, which prosecutors argued was aimed at punishing the former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
DePape was convicted of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. The attack on Paul Pelosi, captured on police body camera video, occurred just days before the 2022 midterm elections. DePape admitted during trial testimony that he broke into the Pelosi home intending to hold the then-Speaker hostage and assaulted Paul Pelosi with a hammer.
