A federal jury has convicted David DePape of two charges related to his 2022 hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s husband, in their San Francisco home, according to federal prosecutors.

DePape was convicted of attempted kidnapping of a federal officer and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official, according to a social media post Thursday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. 

DePape, who pleaded not guilty, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for the Oct. 28, 2022 attack, according to the post.

Prosecutors said DePape arrived at the Pelosi home shortly after 2 a.m., broke into the home via a glass door, woke up Paul Pelosi and told him he was “looking for Nancy.”

Paul Pelosi was able to contact San Francisco police at 2:23 a.m. and when officers arrived at 2:31 a.m., they found him and DePape struggling over a hammer. 

DePape gained control of the hammer and struck Pelosi in the head, knocking him unconscious, after which officers moved in to arrest DePape.

In his interview with SFPD, DePape claimed he wanted to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage in an effort to get her to tell the “truth.” 

If she “lied,” he allegedly planned to break her kneecaps. 

Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.