Man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer sentenced to life in prison – The Irish Times

David DePape, the intruder who broke into his ex-wife’s house US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi A woman who beat her husband with a hammer two years ago was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Tuesday.

The sentence, handed down by a San Francisco judge in state court, ends lawsuits against DePape, who attacked Pelosi’s home days before 2022. WE The midterm elections have raised fears of political violence and underlined the toxic nature of politics in a polarized country. In the years before the attack, DePape had delved into the dark corners of the internet and embraced conspiracy theories such as Pizzagate and QAnon.

DePape, 44, is already serving a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted last year of two federal crimes: attempted kidnapping of a federal officer and assault on an immediate family member of a federal officer. In June, DePape was charged in state court with aggravated kidnapping, false imprisonment of an elder by violence or threat; and first-degree burglary.

DePape’s state sentence will be served concurrently with his federal sentence and he will be held in a state prison, according to the San Francisco district attorney’s office.

“We cannot allow political violence to become normalized, and we must take swift action to ensure that those who use violence to intimidate or suppress our elected leaders from doing what they are elected to do face serious consequences,” said Brooke Jenkins, a district resident. The San Francisco lawyer said in a statement following the sentencing.

According to The San Francisco Chronicle, DePape made a rambling statement at the sentencing hearing that lasted more than 45 minutes, in which he promoted conspiracy theories about 9/11 and talked about “evil murder spell rituals” in the United States.

The crime occurred in the early morning hours of October 28, 2022. Investigators say DePape entered Pelosi’s home with a hammer and repeatedly asked, “Where’s Nancy?” He said he asked. She was in Washington, D.C. at the time, but DePape found her husband, Paul Pelosi, then 82, asleep in the couple’s bedroom.

When the police arrived, Mr. Pelosi and DePape were standing in the entryway of the house, struggling over the hammer. Just then, DePape gained control of the gun and shot Pelosi, who was lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood.

Mr. Pelosi underwent surgery for two skull fractures. At DePape’s state and federal hearings, Mr. Pelosi testified that he was suffering from the lasting effects of his injuries. – This article was first published on: New York Times

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