Paul Pelosi attacker David DePape appears in California court for state trial of brutal attack
The man sentenced to 30 years by a federal court for viciously attacking U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi's husband in the couple's San Francisco home with a hammer was in court Friday to face state charges.
David DePape, 44, was found guilty of attempting to hold Pelosi hostage and assaulting her husband, Paul Pelosi, after he broke into their home on Oct. 28, 2022, looking for Nancy Pelosi, who was then the House Speaker.
On Friday, Assistant San Francisco District Attorney Sean Connolly began his opening remarks by discussing the sanctity of one's home.
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"When we are asleep, we are most vulnerable, and our elderly are our most vulnerable citizens," he said. "Think about that: a home, in the middle of the night, a man alone, sleeping in his bed."
DePape's defense attorney, San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Adam Lipson, told jurors that his client had isolated himself and fell deeper into conspiracy theories in the months leading up to the attack. He said DePape never intended to kill Paul Pelosi but that he "lashed out irrationally" as part of a misguided plan.
He also said DePape had been diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder, a mental health condition characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships,
DePape lived in a garage without access to a bathroom in Richmond, a San Francisco suburb, and spent almost every waking hour playing video games and surfing the internet," said Lipson.
In the state case against him, DePape is charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary, false imprisonment, threatening the life or serious bodily harm to a public official, and threatening the staff or family of a public official. He has pleaded not guilty.
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DePape admitted during his federal trial that he planned to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage, interrogate her and "break her kneecaps" if she did not admit to the lies he said she told about "Russiagate," referencing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. She wasn't inside the home at the time.
Angela Chuang, one of his attorneys, said during closing arguments that DePape was estranged from his family and was caught up in conspiracy theories.
The attack occurred days before the 2022 midterm elections and was captured on police body cameras. Paul Pelosi sustained two head wounds, including a skull fracture that was mended with plates and screws that he will have for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.
DePape was re-sentenced to 30 years in federal prison this month after Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley wrote in a filing that it was a "clear error" on her part not to allow him to make a statement on May 17 before being sentenced as required by law.
"I’m truly sorry for my mistake," she told DePape and his attorneys before he broke down while reading a prepared statement from a sheet of paper.
DePape told the court that "I feel horribly for hurting Mr. Pelosi" and "I should have gone home when I found out Nancy Pelosi wasn’t there" on the night of the hammer attack at the couple’s home.
In a written statement, Pelosi said his life had been "irrevocably changed" by the attack.
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman and Michael Lundin as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report.