Moments later – after being requested to drop the weapon – DePape abruptly struck Mr Pelosi earlier than being wrestled to the bottom by officers. The complete incident was caught on physique cameras worn by the officers.
Along with a fractured cranium, Mr Pelosi suffered accidents to his arm and hand. He was struck 3 times through the assault.
In a letter filed forward of the sentencing, Mrs Pelosi known as on the courtroom handy down a “very lengthy” sentence for DePape, including that she and her husband have by no means been capable of talk about the incident.
“Paul and I’ve not mentioned the occasions of that horrible night time,” she wrote. “Paul would not need to bear revisiting it, and the medical doctors’ recommendation is that discussing the vicious assault would solely renew his trauma.”
In the course of the trial, Mr Pelosi testified that DePape stated his plan was to “take out” Mrs Pelosi, whom he known as the “chief of the pack”.
“It was an incredible shock, him, wanting on the hammer and the ties,” Mr Pelosi recalled. “I recognised I used to be in critical hazard. I attempted to remain as calm as attainable.”
After the assault, Mr Pelosi stated his subsequent reminiscence was waking as much as a “pool of blood” and being rushed to the hospital.
In his personal letter to the courtroom earlier than the sentencing, Mr Pelosi stated he’s nonetheless grapping with the consequences of the assault.
“I stroll slowly and have problem with my steadiness. Practically daily I get complications that grow to be migraines until rapidly addressed,” he wrote. “I have to sleep through the day and can’t tolerate brilliant lights or loud noises for prolonged intervals of time.”
DePape’s court-appointed lawyer, Jodi Linker, argued that her consumer was motivated by right-wing conspiracy theories, which the defendant believed “with each ounce of his being”.
Prosecutors, nonetheless, argued that DePape had a “plan of violence”, noting that he informed investigators he had a “goal record” and plan to interrupt Mrs Pelosi’s kneecaps if she didn’t reveal “the reality”. On the time of his arrest, DePape had zip ties and duct tape.
Exterior the courthouse, DePape’s son informed reporters that his father’s jail sentence was the identical because the loss of life penalty.
“I feel that is a extremely very long time, as a result of if you consider it, he is already almost 50,” Sky Gonzalez stated, in accordance with the Related Press. “Mainly, it is only a loss of life sentence.”
Along with the federal expenses, DePape is dealing with separate state expenses stemming from the assault. They embrace housebreaking, assault with a lethal weapon, elder abuse, and tried homicide.
He faces life imprisonment if convicted of these expenses. He has pleaded not responsible.
