The man who bludgeoned Paul Pelosi with a hammer at his San Francisco home in 2022 has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, the Justice Department said Friday.
A federal jury in November found David DePape guilty of attempted kidnapping of a federal officer and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official.
Authorities said DePape told officers he planned to hold then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and threatened to break her kneecaps, but she and her protective detail were in Washington. Paul Pelosi made his way to the bathroom and called 911.
Officers from the San Francisco Police Department arrived at the home and saw both men gripping a hammer, and then jumped to subdue DePape after he hit Paul Pelosi with the hammer, the department said.
A statement from a spokesperson posted Friday on Nancy Pelosi’s social media account said the former speaker 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.”
“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 post states.
In a letter to the court, Paul Pelsoi wrote that his life has been “irrevocably changed” since “the defendant violently broke into my home and woke me up yelling ‘Where’s Nancy?’” with a hammer and zip ties at 2 a.m. that day.
“Nearly every day I get headaches that become migraines unless quickly addressed,” Paul Pelosi wrote in the letter, which was disclosed in court filings. “I need to sleep during the day and cannot tolerate bright lights or loud noises for extended periods of time.”
“My hair grew back — but I have bumps on my head from the hammer blows and a metal plate from skull surgery,” he wrote.
Paul Pelosi also wrote that the perpetrator “severely damaged the nerves in my left hand.” Paul Pelosi also said they do not answer their landline phone or their front door because of ongoing threats.
“We cannot fully remove the stain on the floor in the front entryway where I bled. As recently as this week, we have had to improve security measures at our home due to ongoing threats,” he wrote.
Nancy Pelosi, in a letter to the court, wrote that a “very long” sentence was necessary as a punishment for the attack and Paul Pelosi’s injuries, “and as a deterrent to others considering violence against public officials.”
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