(L) Paul Pelosi arrives for an official State Dinner. (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) / (R) David DePape, records the nude wedding of Gypsy Taub outside City Hall on Dec. 19, 2013, in San Francisco. (Photo via: AP PHOTO/ERIC RISBERG)
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory 4:40 PM – Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Following his state conviction, David DePape, the man who assaulted Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their San Francisco home two years ago, was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole on Tuesday.
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DePape’s conviction for aggravated kidnapping in connection with the 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi was sentenced by a San Francisco judge. In the state case, DePape was also sentenced to eight years on additional offenses.
DePape had an opportunity to speak to the court and the Pelosi family prior to the sentencing. However, it was anticipated that his lawyers would first request a new trial.
Police claim that in an attempt to abduct and hold hostage then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DePape broke into the Pelosi family’s Pacific Heights home in October 2022. However, she and Vice President Kamala Harris were reportedly in Washington for a keynote address.
DePape struck Paul Pelosi with a hammer while San Francisco police officers attempted to intervene. Mr. Pelosi stayed in the hospital for weeks in order to recuperate.
DePape is currently serving a 30-year sentence in federal prison. According to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, the punishment serves as a reminder that violence against public servants and their families “will not be accepted.”
Regarding the attacker’s past, DePape was reportedly part of a “nudist advocacy group” in San Francisco’s Castro district, according to State Senator Scott Wiener, who spoke with KRON4. “I’ve been aware of him for a long time because he was associated with the public nudity folks in the Castro. It’s a long history with him,” Wiener explained.
Additionally, DePape’s ex-partner, Oxane “Gypsy” Taub, who claimed that she was also “the mother of his children,” previously spoke to outlet ABC7 and described what may have been going through his head. Taub was also found guilty on 20 counts in 2021, which included attempting to abduct a 14-year-old boy in Berkeley.
“He is mentally ill. He has been mentally ill for a long time,” said Taub. “He came back in very bad shape. He thought he was Jesus. He was constantly paranoid, thinking people were after him,” she added.
According to legal analyst Steven Clark, DePape’s statements made in court on Tuesday will be crucial to his future legal proceedings.
“That’ll be very important if he is going to try to get out on parole at a later date,” Clark stated. “He needs to express remorse and show that he understands the magnitude of what he did to Mr. Pelosi and his family and to America.”
DePape’s defense team has declared that they will appeal the state case, arguing that the two convictions amount to double jeopardy.
According to Clark, the appeals court may raise concerns about DePape’s mental state.
“What never came through in this case was Mr. DePape’s mental state,” Clark added. “And will an appellate court look at this case and ask why wasn’t his mental health brought to light during this trial to reflect on what he did [and] whether that affected his behavior.”
🚨 JUST IN: David DePape, the man who attacked a half-naked Paul Pelosi with a hammer in the middle of the night, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.pic.twitter.com/fgt5E3g7fC
