The man who broke into former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and clubbed her husband with a hammer should serve 40 years in prison for his conviction on federal offenses that amount to a crime of terrorism, prosecutors urged on Friday.
In a sentencing memorandum filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, prosecutors said David Wayne DePape has shown no remorse, deserves no leniency and should receive the statutory maximum penalties for each of the two counts on which he was convicted last year.
“At a time when extremism has led to attacks on public and elected officials, this case presents a moment to speak to others harboring ideologically motivated violent dreams and plans,” the memorandum said.
Sentencing is set for May 17.
In November, a federal court jury found DePape guilty of attempting to kidnap Pelosi, then speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and assaulting her husband, Paul Pelosi, both on account of her official duties as a member of Congress.
Prosecutors recommended that DePape receive the maximum jail term for each count – 20 years for attempted kidnapping and 30 years for assault – with 20 years of the second count consecutive to the first, for a total of 40 years behind bars.
Although he was not convicted of committing terrorism, DePape’s offenses – a week before the 2022 congressional midterm elections – met the federal definition of terrorism as a crime “calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion,” prosecutors argued.
Prosecutors recommended that DePape receive the maximum jail term for each count – 20 years for attempted kidnapping and 30 years for assault – with 20 years of the second count consecutive to the first, for a total of 40 years behind bars.
Although he was not convicted of committing terrorism, DePape’s offenses – a week before the 2022 congressional midterm elections – met the federal definition of terrorism as a crime “calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion,” prosecutors argued.