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 thrice throughout the assault.
In a letter filed forward of the sentencing, Mrs Pelosi referred to as on the courtroom at hand down a “very lengthy” sentence for DePape, including that she and her husband have by no means been in a position to focus on the incident.
“Paul and I’ve not mentioned the occasions of that horrible night time,” she wrote. “Paul would not need to endure revisiting it, and the medical doctors’ recommendation is that discussing the vicious assault would solely renew his trauma.”
Throughout the trial, Mr Pelosi testified that DePape mentioned his plan was to “take out” Mrs Pelosi, whom he known as the “chief of the pack”.
“It was an incredible shock, taking a look at him, trying 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 potential.”
After the assault, Mr Pelosi mentioned 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 mentioned he’s nonetheless grapping with the results of the assault.
“I stroll slowly and have problem with my steadiness. Practically on daily basis I get complications that develop into migraines until shortly addressed,” he wrote. “I have to sleep throughout the day and can’t tolerate shiny lights or loud noises for prolonged durations 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 instructed 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.
Outdoors the courthouse, DePape’s son instructed reporters that his father’s jail sentence was the identical because the dying penalty.
“I believe that is a very very long time, as a result of if you consider it, he is already practically 50,” Sky Gonzalez mentioned, in accordance with the Related Press. “Principally, it is only a dying sentence.”
Along with the federal expenses, DePape is going through 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.
