David DePape, the man sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for the attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was convicted on Friday of aggravated kidnapping, a charge that mandates life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
A San Francisco jury found DePape guilty of multiple charges, including first-degree burglary, false imprisonment of an elder, threatening a family member of a public official, and dissuading a witness. These convictions follow his federal sentencing for the 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi.
In a statement, Nancy Pelosi’s office expressed admiration for Paul Pelosi’s bravery, noting his courageous testimony during the trial. “Speaker Pelosi and her family remain in awe of their Pop’s bravery, which shone through again on the witness stand in this trial just as it did when he saved his own life on the night of the attack,” the statement read. “For nearly 20 grueling months, Mr. Pelosi has demonstrated extraordinary courage and fortitude every day of his recovery.”
DePape’s public defender, Adam Lipson, expressed disappointment with the verdict and announced plans to appeal. He criticized the prosecution’s decision to file a kidnapping for ransom charge, calling it “vindictive.” Lipson argued, “It’s really unfortunate that it was charged this way. It was sort of a textbook vindictive prosecution. As soon as they found that the attempted murder charge was going to be dismissed, they added this charge.”
- Advertisement -
Lipson also contended that the state trial constituted double jeopardy following DePape’s federal conviction, even though the criminal counts differ. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman dismissed the state charges of attempted murder, elder abuse, and assault with a deadly weapon, a decision upheld on appeal.
According to Lipson, the verdict means that after DePape serves his 30-year federal sentence, he will be transferred to California to serve a life sentence.
Previously, a federal jury convicted DePape of assaulting a federal official’s family member and attempting to kidnap a federal official. On May 28, he received a 30-year federal prison sentence during a resentencing hearing prompted by judicial error.
In his closing arguments, Lipson emphasized that prosecutors failed to prove DePape kidnapped Paul Pelosi, then 82, with the intent “to exact from another person money or something valuable,” which is necessary for the charge. Assistant District Attorney Phoebe Maffei countered by highlighting DePape’s plan to record a video of his interrogation of Nancy Pelosi.
Lipson argued the alleged video did not exist and, if it did, it would have had no value. He stated, “When he broke into the Pelosis’ home, his intent was to confront and potentially hurt and assault Nancy Pelosi. That was his intent at that time, which has nothing to do with Mr. Pelosi.”
In her rebuttal, Maffei pointed out that DePape had told a detective and testified in federal court about his plan to obtain a video of Nancy Pelosi confessing to crimes and post it online. “There is inherent value in a video of the Speaker of the House confessing to crimes in her own home,” Maffei asserted.
