A man who assaulted former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s elderly husband with a hammer was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the district attorney’s office in California said, according to the AFP news agency.
David DePape, who forcibly entered the Pelosis’ San Francisco home and brutally attacked Paul Pelosi in an incident captured on police body camera, was already serving a 30-year federal sentence for the assault.
A San Francisco judge sentenced 44-year-old DePape “to a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole following his conviction on aggravated kidnapping and other charges,” stated the San Francisco district attorney’s office, as quoted by AFP.
DePape—a Canadian former nudist activist who made a living through occasional carpentry work—had initially intended to target Nancy Pelosi. However, he instead found her then-82-year-old husband.
During what DePape described to officers as a “pretty amicable” conversation with Paul Pelosi, the husband managed to alert law enforcement for help.
When police arrived shortly thereafter, DePape struck Pelosi with a hammer before officers restrained him and removed the weapon.
Pelosi suffered a fractured skull, lost consciousness, and was hospitalized for nearly a week, during which he underwent surgery.
Nancy Pelosi was not home at the time of the attack.
DePape’s lawyers have indicated they plan to appeal.