Washington, DC [US], May 18 : After over a year of violent assault on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, a federal judge sentenced the attacker, David DePape to 30 years in prison for the attack and 20 years for attempted kidnapping, reported CNN.
Paul Pelosi, the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was attacked using a hammer at his California home in November 2022 and underwent surgery for a skull fracture and other severe injuries.
Following this, David DePape was accused of entering Pelosi's San Francisco home where he attacked the House Speaker's husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer and was charged with one count of "attempted kidnapping of a US official.
A federal judge on Friday sentenced David DePape to 30 years in prison after he was convicted in the violent October 2022 attack, as reported by CNN.
DePape was sentenced to 30 years for assault and 20 years for attempted kidnapping, which will run concurrently.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, who presided over DePape's trial for the Northern District of California, said she had to "ensure that the sentence reflects the seriousness of the offence."
"He broke into the home of an official and violently attacked the public official's spouse. That act is unprecedented," she said.
However, in November, DePape's attorneys conceded that their client attacked the then-83-year-old Paul Pelosi, but argued that his motivation for the assault did not match the charges against him, according to CNN.
While testifying in his own defence, DePape recalled that he was looking for Nancy Pelosi, adding that her husband had not been on his list of targets.
He was "surprised and confused," he testified when he found out that the congresswoman was not home.
"I'm telling him, 'I have other targets, but if you stop me, I'll go through you,'" DePape said, recalling a conversation with Paul Pelos.
DePape added that he then reacted and hit Pelosi "in the head," because his plan was "basically ruined."
In his testimony, Pelosi recounted how he awoke from sleep the night of the attack to see a man with a hammer in his home, CNN reported.
Later, DePape asked where his wife was. "She's not here. She's in Washington," Pelosi recalled answering.
He was violently struck in the head following a struggle with DePape, Pelosi said.
Paul Pelosi stressed that his recovery has been difficult with spells of lightheadedness and headaches as he underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and injuries to his hand and arm, reported CNN.
"I've made the best effort I possibly can to not revisit this," he said at the time.
In a statement filed with the court, Speaker Emerita Pelosi said the attack on her husband "has had a devastating effect on three generations of our family."
"The break-in and violation of our domestic tranquillity is having a long-lasting impact," she added.
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