SAN FRANCISCO — Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to impose a 40-year prison sentence on the man who broke into former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home, tried to hold her hostage and attacked her husband with a hammer.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday that prosecutors made the request ahead of David DePape’s sentencing hearing, saying he has shown no remorse for the October 2022 attack.
“There is nothing in the defendant’s history or characteristics that warrants leniency,” federal prosecutors wrote in court documents. “The defendant admitted – in fact bragged – that he knew what he was doing.”
DePape was convicted last year of attempted kidnapping of a federal employee and assault on a federal employee’s immediate family. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.
The attack on Paul Pelosi, then 82, which was captured on police camera video just days before the midterm elections, sent shockwaves through the political world.
DePape admitted during trial testimony that he broke into Pelosi’s home with the intention of holding the speaker hostage and “breaking her knees” if she lied to him. He also admitted to beating Paul Pelosi with a hammer after police showed up at the home, saying his plan to end what he saw as government corruption was unraveling.
Defense attorneys said DePape was motivated by his political beliefs and involved in conspiracy theories.
Nancy Pelosi was not home at the time of the attack. Paul Pelosi suffered two head injuries, including a fractured skull that was repaired with plates and screws that he will wear for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.
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