Attack on Paul Pelosi

Attack on Paul Pelosi
Attack on Paul Pelosi
	DePape (left) preparing to hit Pelosi (right)
Location	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Date	October 28, 2022 ; c. 2:31 a.m. (PDT)
Target	Nancy Pelosi
Attack type	Attempted kidnapping (Nancy Pelosi), Kidnapping (Paul Pelosi), home invasion, assault with a deadly weapon
Weapons	Hammer
Victim	Paul Pelosi Sr. (survived)
Perpetrator	David Wayne DePape
Motive	Desire to kidnap and interrogate Nancy Pelosi
Verdict	Found guilty on all Federal counts and 5 of 6 State counts
Convictions	Federal: Attempted kidnapping of a federal official; Assaulting an immediate member of a federal official's family and inflicting a serious injury with a dangerous weapon; California:; Threatening the family member of a public official; First-degree burglary; False imprisonment of an elder; Aggravated kidnapping; Preventing or dissuading a witness by force or threat;
Charges	California: Attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse (dismissed during trial);
Sentence	Federal:; 30 years in prison; California:; Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole

On October 28, 2022, 42-year-old David DePape attacked Paul Pelosi, the husband of Nancy Pelosi, the 52nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He beat Pelosi with a hammer during a home invasion of the couple's Pacific Heights, San Francisco residence, leaving him with a fractured skull that required surgery.

San Francisco police arrested DePape at the scene. He planned to take Speaker Pelosi hostage and interrogate her. Prosecutors believed the attack to be politically motivated. DePape had a history of mental health issues and drug abuse; before the attack, he had embraced various far-right conspiracy theories, including QAnon, Pizzagate, and Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election in 2020. Online, he made conspiratorial, racist, sexist, and antisemitic posts, and pushed COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. His blog also contained delusional thoughts. At his subsequent trial, DePape testified that he was motivated by conspiracy theories and had hatched a "grand plan" to target Speaker Pelosi and others.

On October 31, DePape was charged with two federal crimes: assault of an immediate family member of a federal official with the intent to retaliate against the official on account of the performance of official duties; and attempted kidnapping of a federal official on account of the performance of official duties. He was also charged with six state felonies, including attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, and elder abuse. Within days, prominent right-wing figures, including former president Donald Trump, shared disinformation and misinformation about the attack, casting doubt on the assailant's motives and claiming that the attack was a false flag operation. Other politicians, including Democrats and Republicans, condemned the attack.

DePape was convicted of the federal charges on November 16, 2023. On May 17, 2024, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison and five years of supervised release from the federal charges. DePape was also convicted of five state charges on June 21, 2024, and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on October 29, 2024.