David DePape, convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Friday.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley delivered the sentence after jurors found DePape, 44, guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors had sought a 40-year prison term.
During the trial, DePape admitted to breaking into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco on October 28, 2022, with the intention of holding the Speaker hostage and “breaking her kneecaps” if she lied to him. He also confessed to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi, 82 at the time, with a hammer when police arrived, as his plan to address what he perceived as government corruption began to unravel. The attack, captured on police body camera footage, occurred just days before the midterm elections and sent shockwaves through the political world.
