Attacker of Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Faces Additional Conviction for Aggravated Kidnapping

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David DePape, the man convicted of attacking Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, now faces an additional conviction for aggravated kidnapping in a state court. DePape, already sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for the 2022 attack, could potentially spend the rest of his life behind bars following this new conviction.

 

Last month, a federal judge handed DePape a 30-year sentence for the brutal assault on Paul Pelosi. However, the legal proceedings against him did not end there. On Friday, 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 aggravated kidnapping.

 

During the state trial, DePape's public defender, Adam Lipson, admitted his client's guilt for three of the charges but contested the accusations of threatening a family member of a public official and aggravated kidnapping. These charges were introduced by prosecutors in late May as DePape's federal trial was concluding. Despite Lipson's arguments, the jury convicted DePape on all counts.

 

DePape's federal conviction included charges of assaulting a federal official’s family member and attempting to kidnap a federal official. On May 28, he was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after a resentencing hearing prompted by judicial error. Following his imprisonment, DePape is likely to be deported to Canada.

 

Lipson argued that the state trial represented double jeopardy, given that the criminal acts were connected to the same incident as the federal conviction. Although the charges were not identical, Lipson maintained that the cases were intrinsically linked. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman agreed to an extent, dismissing state charges of attempted murder, elder abuse, and assault with a deadly weapon. This decision was upheld on appeal by another judge.

 

During closing arguments, Lipson emphasized that prosecutors failed to prove DePape's intent to kidnap Paul Pelosi with the goal of obtaining money or something valuable, which is a critical element of the charge. Prosecutors, however, argued that the valuable item DePape sought was a video of Nancy Pelosi confessing to alleged crimes, which he intended to disseminate online.

 

Assistant District Attorney Phoebe Maffei countered Lipson’s arguments by pointing out that DePape had told a detective and testified in federal court about his plan to create and distribute such a video. "There is inherent value in a video of the Speaker of the House confessing to crimes in her own home," Maffei stated.

 

The attack on Paul Pelosi, captured on police body camera footage just days before the 2022 midterm elections, sent shockwaves through the political landscape. Paul Pelosi, 82 at the time, sustained two head injuries, including a skull fracture that required surgical repair with plates and screws. He also suffered injuries to his right arm and hand.

 

Maffei described the attack as part of a meticulously planned "reign of terror" orchestrated by DePape. "David DePape broke into the home of an 82-year-old man while he slept, entered his bedroom, held him hostage with a hammer, threatened him, threatened his wife, and attempted to kill him," she said. DePape had admitted during his federal trial that he intended to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage, interrogate her on video, and "break her kneecaps" if she did not confess to what he believed were lies about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

 

Lipson, in his closing arguments, portrayed DePape as a man who had become isolated and consumed by propaganda and conspiracy theories. This narrative was complicated by recent events involving DePape's former partner, Gypsy Taub, who was expelled from the public gallery and the second floor of the San Francisco courthouse for attempting to tamper with the jury. Taub had distributed materials promoting conspiracy theories outside the courtroom and in a nearby bathroom.

 

Judge Dorfman accused Taub of attempting to corruptly influence jury members, leading to her removal from the court by bailiffs. Taub, a known activist in the Bay Area, was identified by DePape’s federal public defender as someone who had exposed DePape to extreme beliefs. DePape’s twin sister, Joanne Robinson, also wrote to the federal judge seeking leniency, describing how Taub had isolated DePape from his family and inflicted significant psychological damage on him.

 

Credit: Politico 2024-06-24

 

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[rudi49jr]

Good, throw the book at that extremist right wing lunatic. It was a terrorist act, and should be dealt with accordingly.

[Eric Loh]

David DePape believed with every ounce of his body that he was taking action to stop the abuse of children by politicians. Got to say that he attacked the wrong person. There are many among the Republican politicians who abused children including their leader who is legally a sexual predator.