David DePape, the man who brutally attacked Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in their San Francisco home in 2022, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Tuesday, The Associated Press reports.
This sentence, following a separate state trial, comes in addition to the 30-year federal prison sentence DePape received earlier this year for related charges.
DePape was found guilty by a San Francisco jury in June of aggravated kidnapping, first-degree burglary, and false imprisonment of an elder.
“It’s my intention that Mr. DePape will never get out of prison, he can never be paroled,” judge Harry Dorfman said while handing down the life sentence.
During the sentencing hearing, DePape, clad in prison orange, refused to acknowledge the gravity of his actions. Instead, he launched into a rambling speech about conspiracy theories, including claims that 9/11 was an inside job, his ex-wife was a body double, and his legal representation was part of a government conspiracy.
The attack left Paul Pelosi with head injuries, including a skull fracture, and ongoing dizziness and nerve damage.
The Pelosi family, in a statement released after the sentencing, expressed relief that “legal justice has been served.”
“The sentence of life without parole gives our Pop some measure of legal justice and, we hope, a message to others that political violence against elected officials or their family members will not be tolerated, minimized or condoned,” the statement read.
The attack, which took place just days before the 2022 midterm elections, shocked the nation and highlighted the growing threat of political violence. DePape, a Canadian citizen who had been living in the United States for years, admitted during his federal trial that he planned to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage, interrogate her, and potentially break her kneecaps if she didn’t admit to “lies” she told about the “Russiagate” investigation.
