A man was sentenced to 30 years in prison in federal court the prison In attack against former House Speaker Nancy Pelosiwas the husband of convicted Friday by a San Francisco jury AbductionA punishment that requires life behind bars without the possibility of parole
A San Francisco jury found David Depape He was also found guilty of first-degree burglary, wrongful confinement of an elderly person, threatening a family member of a public official and disturbing a witness.
The conviction on the additional charges comes just weeks after a federal judge sentenced DePape for the 2022 assault Paul Pelosi,
“Speaker Pelosi and her family are in awe of her father’s bravery, which resurfaced on the witness stand in this case.” tests “Just as he did on the night of the attack, his life was saved,” Pelosi’s office wrote in an emailed statement Friday. “During nearly 20 difficult months, Mr. Pelosi has displayed extraordinary courage and fortitude each and every day of his recovery.”
Depape’s public prosecutor, Adam Lipson, said he was disappointed by the verdict and planned to appeal it. He described prosecutors’ decision to charge him with kidnapping for ransom as “vindictive.”
“It’s really unfortunate that the charge was brought in this way. It was kind of a textbook retaliatory prosecution,” Lipson said. “As soon as they found out the attempted murder charge was going to be dismissed, they added this charge.”
Lipson said the verdict means that after DePape serves 30 years in federal prison, he will be transferred to a California prison, “where he will spend the rest of his life in a California prison.”
Lipson told the jury during closing arguments this week that DePape is guilty of three of the charges, but prosecutors have not presented any evidence to convict him of threatening a family member of a public official and aggravated kidnapping.
Earlier, a federal jury convicted DePape of assaulting a federal officer’s family member and attempting to kidnap a federal officer. On May 28, he was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison during an unusual retrial hearing resulting from a judicial error.
Lipson had previously argued that the state prosecution after the federal conviction represents double jeopardy. He told the judge that even though the criminal cases are not identical, both cases arise from the same act.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman agreed and dismissed the charges against the state for attempted murder, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. Another judge upheld the decision on appeal.
Lipson focused his closing arguments on convincing the jury that prosecutors had not proven DePape kidnapped Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time, and that his purpose was to “extort money or something of value from another person,” which is an integral part of the charge.
Assistant District Attorney Phoebe Maffei told the jury in her closing argument that DePape had planned to record a video of the interrogation of Nancy Pelosi.
Lipson argued that the video didn’t exist and would have no value if it did.
“When he went into the Pelosi home, his intent was to confront Nancy Pelosi and hurt her and attack her. That was his intent at that point; it had nothing to do with Mr. Pelosi,” he said.
In his rebuttal, Maffei pointed out that DePape had told a detective and testified in federal court that he planned to obtain a video of Nancy Pelosi confessing to the crime and post it on the Internet.
“The video of the House speaker admitting guilt in her own home is extremely valuable,” Maffei said.
The attack on Paul Pelosi was captured on police body camera video just days before the 2022 midterm elections and shocked the political world. He suffered two head injuries, including a skull fracture that was repaired with plates and screws that will last him a lifetime. His right arm and hand were also injured.
On Monday, Maffei told the jury that DePape conducted a “reign of terror” on Paul Pelosi and then attacked him with a hammer, part of a plan he had painstakingly planned over months.
“The facts of this case are horrific in themselves, even if they have been exaggerated,” Maffei said. “David DePaepe broke into an 82-year-old man’s home, held him hostage while he was asleep, broke into his bedroom, held him hostage with a hammer, threatened him, threatened his wife and tried to kill him.”
DePape admitted during his testimony at the federal trial that he planned to take Nancy Pelosi hostage, record her interrogation, and “break her kneecaps” if she did not confess to lying about “Russiagate,” a reference to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
Lipson told the jury during closing arguments that before the attack, DePape had been living an isolated, lonely life and had been “caught up in a web of propaganda and conspiracy theories.”
This week the judge expelled DePape’s former partner from the public gallery and the second floor of the San Francisco courthouse after the judge said she was trying to tamper with the jury.
On Monday and Tuesday, Gypsy Toub, a well-known Bay Area activist, distributed pieces of paper outside the courtroom bearing the address of a website she runs that promotes conspiracy theories. The cards were also found in a women’s restroom near the courtroom, where the website address was scrawled in marker on a wall.
“You are attempting to corruptly influence one or more jurors,” Dorfman said sternly, and then asked two bailiffs to escort Taub out of the courtroom.
Depaepe’s federal public prosecutor said during his federal sentencing that Depaepe was first introduced to extremist beliefs by Taub, who has two sons with Depaepe.
DePape’s twin sister Joanne Robinson asked for leniency in a letter to a federal judge, saying Taub met DePape in Hawaii when he was 20 and she was 30 and pregnant.
Robinson wrote that Toub isolated DePape from her family and caused “extreme psychological damage” to her brother.
A San Francisco jury found David Depape He was also found guilty of first-degree burglary, wrongful confinement of an elderly person, threatening a family member of a public official and disturbing a witness.
The conviction on the additional charges comes just weeks after a federal judge sentenced DePape for the 2022 assault Paul Pelosi,
“Speaker Pelosi and her family are in awe of her father’s bravery, which resurfaced on the witness stand in this case.” tests “Just as he did on the night of the attack, his life was saved,” Pelosi’s office wrote in an emailed statement Friday. “During nearly 20 difficult months, Mr. Pelosi has displayed extraordinary courage and fortitude each and every day of his recovery.”
Depape’s public prosecutor, Adam Lipson, said he was disappointed by the verdict and planned to appeal it. He described prosecutors’ decision to charge him with kidnapping for ransom as “vindictive.”
“It’s really unfortunate that the charge was brought in this way. It was kind of a textbook retaliatory prosecution,” Lipson said. “As soon as they found out the attempted murder charge was going to be dismissed, they added this charge.”
Lipson said the verdict means that after DePape serves 30 years in federal prison, he will be transferred to a California prison, “where he will spend the rest of his life in a California prison.”
Lipson told the jury during closing arguments this week that DePape is guilty of three of the charges, but prosecutors have not presented any evidence to convict him of threatening a family member of a public official and aggravated kidnapping.
Earlier, a federal jury convicted DePape of assaulting a federal officer’s family member and attempting to kidnap a federal officer. On May 28, he was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison during an unusual retrial hearing resulting from a judicial error.
Lipson had previously argued that the state prosecution after the federal conviction represents double jeopardy. He told the judge that even though the criminal cases are not identical, both cases arise from the same act.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman agreed and dismissed the charges against the state for attempted murder, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. Another judge upheld the decision on appeal.
Lipson focused his closing arguments on convincing the jury that prosecutors had not proven DePape kidnapped Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time, and that his purpose was to “extort money or something of value from another person,” which is an integral part of the charge.
Assistant District Attorney Phoebe Maffei told the jury in her closing argument that DePape had planned to record a video of the interrogation of Nancy Pelosi.
Lipson argued that the video didn’t exist and would have no value if it did.
“When he went into the Pelosi home, his intent was to confront Nancy Pelosi and hurt her and attack her. That was his intent at that point; it had nothing to do with Mr. Pelosi,” he said.
In his rebuttal, Maffei pointed out that DePape had told a detective and testified in federal court that he planned to obtain a video of Nancy Pelosi confessing to the crime and post it on the Internet.
“The video of the House speaker admitting guilt in her own home is extremely valuable,” Maffei said.
The attack on Paul Pelosi was captured on police body camera video just days before the 2022 midterm elections and shocked the political world. He suffered two head injuries, including a skull fracture that was repaired with plates and screws that will last him a lifetime. His right arm and hand were also injured.
On Monday, Maffei told the jury that DePape conducted a “reign of terror” on Paul Pelosi and then attacked him with a hammer, part of a plan he had painstakingly planned over months.
“The facts of this case are horrific in themselves, even if they have been exaggerated,” Maffei said. “David DePaepe broke into an 82-year-old man’s home, held him hostage while he was asleep, broke into his bedroom, held him hostage with a hammer, threatened him, threatened his wife and tried to kill him.”
DePape admitted during his testimony at the federal trial that he planned to take Nancy Pelosi hostage, record her interrogation, and “break her kneecaps” if she did not confess to lying about “Russiagate,” a reference to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
Lipson told the jury during closing arguments that before the attack, DePape had been living an isolated, lonely life and had been “caught up in a web of propaganda and conspiracy theories.”
This week the judge expelled DePape’s former partner from the public gallery and the second floor of the San Francisco courthouse after the judge said she was trying to tamper with the jury.
On Monday and Tuesday, Gypsy Toub, a well-known Bay Area activist, distributed pieces of paper outside the courtroom bearing the address of a website she runs that promotes conspiracy theories. The cards were also found in a women’s restroom near the courtroom, where the website address was scrawled in marker on a wall.
“You are attempting to corruptly influence one or more jurors,” Dorfman said sternly, and then asked two bailiffs to escort Taub out of the courtroom.
Depaepe’s federal public prosecutor said during his federal sentencing that Depaepe was first introduced to extremist beliefs by Taub, who has two sons with Depaepe.
DePape’s twin sister Joanne Robinson asked for leniency in a letter to a federal judge, saying Taub met DePape in Hawaii when he was 20 and she was 30 and pregnant.
Robinson wrote that Toub isolated DePape from her family and caused “extreme psychological damage” to her brother.
