The man who broke into former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) mansion last year and attacked her husband with a hammer was found guilty Thursday in a San Francisco federal courtroom and could spend the foreseeable future behind bars.
David DePape was convicted of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault upon an immediate family member of a federal official.
During closing arguments, DePape's public defender Angela Chuang admitted he did "horrible things" and "committed serious crimes," but said he didn't commit the crimes he had been charged with and therefore should be found not guilty, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
"Don't get sucked into the culture war like DePape did," she told jurors. "Take the high road."
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The crux of the government's case against DePape, a Canadian national, had been that he purposefully sought out the Pelosis and attempted to cause them harm because he believed the longtime legislator was "evil" and on a mission to destroy the United States.
"Would he have gone to the Pelosis' home if Rep. Nancy Pelosi had not been a member of Congress?" prosecutor Helen Gilbert asked. "If she was a regular citizen? No. He deliberately targeted her because of her job, because of her role in our political system. Because of her official duties."
DePape testified in his own defense Tuesday, at times sobbing on the stand and holding the bridge of his nose.
He said he came to fantastical conclusions not only about the Pelosis but others including Democratic megadonor George Soros, former Vice President Mike Pence, actor Tom Hanks, and a professor of women’s and queer studies at the University of Michigan after being consumed by conspiracy theories he heard on right-wing podcasts as well as on YouTube videos.
DePape denied prosecutors' claims that the Oct. 28, 2022 break-in and attack on Paul Pelosi was linked to his wife's job in Congress, a key requirement in the charges federal prosecutors brought against him. He did admit on the stand that he knew she worked in Congress and called her the "leader of the pack."
DePape said he wanted to talk to the congresswoman about Russia's involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and that he had planned to show up wearing an inflatable unicorn costume and upload his interrogation of her online. His objective was to get her as well as other "targets" to admit to their alleged corruption and then get President Joe Biden to issue pardons "so we can move forward as a country." Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C. during the time of the attack.
DePape also admitted to telling law enforcement authorities that if his plan to break Nancy Pelosi's kneecaps had been successful, she would have been wheeled onto the floor of the House of Representatives and that all other lawmakers would fall in line and realize the consequences of being "the most evil people on the planet."
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DePape, who once made hemp jewelry and was a nude enthusiast, broke down when asked to explain his political transition from liberal to "right of center."
He said he used to have "strong anti-[Donald] Trump vibes" but that his views changed the more he watched podcasts.
He claimed he was in search of the truth when he went down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole and became obsessed with learning as much as he could on everything from Russia to QAnon and subscribed to theories about a cabal of powerful Democrats, celebrities, and pedophiles working in concert to bring down the country.
Prosecutors painted DePape as conniving and said he knew exactly what he was doing the night he packed a steel hammer and zip ties to break through the back door of the Pelosis' Pacific Palisades home.
Prosecutors claim DePape researched the congresswoman weeks before the attack and looked up members of the Pelosi family, including children and grandchildren.
DePape had "planned to kidnap her, to hold her hostage, to break her kneecaps, to teach her a lesson," they added.
He allegedly screamed "Where's Nancy?" repeatedly at Paul Pelosi, who managed to make a 911 telephone call in which he spoke to the dispatcher and left the line open for authorities. The dispatcher, realizing something was wrong, sent the police to the address.
When the authorities arrived, they saw DePape and Paul Pelosi with their hands on the hammer. They were both told to drop the hammer, but DePape wrestled it away and hit Paul Pelosi with it multiple times. DePape was immediately arrested, and Paul Pelosi was taken to the emergency after suffering extensive wounds. He was hospitalized for six days.
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Paul Pelosi took the stand on Monday and testified how he was in fear for his life when he awoke to find DePape staring at him and asking him where his wife was.
DePape still has a list of state charges against him. A trial date will be set later this month.