David DePape: Man who attacked ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul gets 30 years prison sentence

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: David DePape, the man who got convicted for the savage hammer attack of Paul Pelosi, husband to former House Speaker and Representative Nancy Pelosi, at the couple's California home, has been slapped with the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison on Friday, May 17.

The criminal was sentenced to 30 years on one count and 20 on the second, which are to be served concurrently. DePape was impassive as the judge read his sentence in court.

A victim impact statement was read in court by Christine Pelosi, the couple's daughter. Former House Speaker Pelosi is in Washington, DC did not attend the sentencing.

Prosecutors previously asked for a 40-year sentence for David DePape

DePape was convicted last year of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official.

Prosecutors had asked Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley for a 40-year prison term. Just days before the 2022 midterm elections, the attack on then-82-year-old Paul Pelosi was captured on police body camera video. 

David DePape was motivated by his political beliefs 

Defense attorneys said DePape was motivated by his political beliefs and caught up in conspiracy theories.

Nancy was not at home at the time of the October 2022 incident.

From custody, DePape called the KTVU newsroom. In the call that was also played out during the trial, he said he had "an important message for everyone in America – you’re welcome." 

Prosecutors said a medical examination at the hospital showed Paul "suffered two skull fractures that had to be repaired in emergency surgery, along with a wound to his arm and his hand, which were also treated in surgery by specialized surgeons." 

At trial, "a neurosurgeon who performed the surgeries testified that one of the skull fractures narrowly missed a vein that if lacerated would have caused life-threatening blood loss," the motion said.

Paul Pelosi recalls David DePape's attack as he testifies at the trial

Paul Pelosi also testified at trial, as he recounted how he was awakened in the middle of the night by a large man bursting into his bedroom and demanding, "Where's Nancy?" Paul said that when he told the man his wife was in Washington, DePape said he would tie him up while they waited for her.

"It was a tremendous sense of shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house, and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible," Pelosi told jurors.

DePape also faces state charges of assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary, and other felonies. Jury selection for that trial is scheduled to start May 22. 

Internet's sharp take after David DePape gets 30-year prison sentence 

Soon after DePape's prison sentence was announced, X users gave their opinions.

One user tweeted, "How does he get 30 years for attacking someone with a hammer when he was probably invited in as an evening tryst. And the people who beat the shit out of the New York cops were let out of jail." 

Another asked, "And the murderer of Lake and Riley is out on probation if I have this correct?" "Burglary with battery is a very serious crime. Not an uncommon outcome in my experience as both prosecutor and defense attorney" opined one. "How did he get past the Secret Service agents?" asked one. 

"A two tier justice system for the powerful and the ordinary citizen. What do you think he would have got if he did that to a regular person?" tweeted one user. 

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