A man who attacked the elderly husband of former US house speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer has been jailed for 30 years.
David DePape was convicted last year of breaking into the couple's San Francisco home and bludgeoning Paul Pelosi.
In a politically motivated attack, David DePape forcibly entered Ms Pelosi's home in San Francisco early in the morning on 28 October 2022, just a week before that year's congressional elections. At the time, Ms Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, was in Washington.
DePape, who according to prosecutors was driven by the far-right conspiracy theories known as QAnon, acknowledged in trial testimony that his intention was to take Ms Pelosi hostage.
DePape, 44, confronted Ms Pelosi's husband, Paul, and struck him over the head with a hammer before police who had been called to the scene were able to subdue the attacker. A jury found DePape guilty in November of attempting to kidnap a federal officer and assaulting an immediate family member of a federal officer.
Paul Pelosi, 82, suffered skull fractures and other injuries that have continued to affect him, as he described in a letter to the judge ahead of today's sentencing. In addition to dizziness and a metal plate that remains in his head, Mr Pelosi said he struggles with balance and has permanent nerve damage in his left hand.
In a separate letter, Ms Pelosi, a Democrat who was the first woman to be elected House speaker, urged the judge to impose a "very long" punishment.
She noted that DePape reportedly shouted "Where's Nancy?" upon breaking into her home, echoing what some intruders yelled inside the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, when a mob of then-President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the building seeking to overturn President Joe Biden's election.
DePape was convicted by a jury in November
In court papers, the Justice Department argued that while he was not convicted of a terrorism crime, his offenses nevertheless met the definition because he was aiming to affect the government through "intimidation or coercion."
Prosecutors also said DePape had not shown remorse for his actions.
DePape's court-appointed defense lawyer had asked for a sentence of 14 years, saying he had become "unmoored" in the years leading up to the attack due in part to an abusive relationship.
DePape still faces separate state charges stemming from the Pelosi break-in and attack, including attempted murder, that carry a potential sentence of 13 years to life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty.
