Paul Pelosi attacker sentenced to 30 years in prison

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May 17, 2024
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The man who attacked the husband of former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

David DePape was convicted of assault and attempted kidnapping of a federal official in November after a week-long trial in San Francisco.

The attack left Paul Pelosi, now 84, in hospital for six days with a fractured skull and other injuries.

Mrs Pelosi had asked for a “very long” sentence to be given to DePape.

A spokesperson for Mrs Pelosi said that the family “couldn’t be prouder of their Pop and his tremendous courage” on the night of the attack and in testifying in the case.

“Speaker Pelosi and her family are immensely grateful to all who have sent love and prayers over the last eighteen months, as Mr Pelosi continues his recovery,” the spokesperson said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Prosecutors had asked the judge for DePape to be given 40 years. He is also facing life imprisonment on separate state charges.

Video of the incident shown during the trial shows DePape, a Canadian citizen who has lived in the US for two decades, breaking into the Pelosi home in California armed with a hammer on 28 October 2022.

DePape asked for Mrs Pelosi, who was not at home, when he confronted the lawmaker’s husband inside the couple’s house.

When police officers arrived after responding to a 911 call, they found Mr Pelosi and DePape both gripping a hammer.

DePape’s court-appointed lawyer, Jodi Linker, argued that her client was motivated by right-wing conspiracy theories, which the defendant believed “with every ounce of his being”.

Prosecutors, however, argued that DePape had a “plan of violence”, noting that he told investigators he had a “target list” and plan to break Mrs Pelosi’s kneecaps if she did not reveal “the truth”. At the time of his arrest, DePape had zip ties and duct tape.

In addition to the federal charges, DePape is facing separate state charges stemming from the attack. They include burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, and attempted murder.

He faces life imprisonment if convicted of those charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

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World

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November 7, 2024
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4 minutes Read

Harris concedes election, but not ‘the fight that fueled this campaign’

Vice President Kamala Harris offered an uplifting, positive charge to her supporters as she conceded the 2024 presidential election, acknowledging the stinging loss while committing to a peaceful transfer of power and vowing to “fight” in a much different way than a defeated presidential candidate promised four years ago.

“Earlier today, I spoke with President-elect (Donald) Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power,” she said in remarks at Howard University, her alma mater, in Washington, DC.

In making the remarks, Harris did something her opponent refused to do in the aftermath of the 2020 election: Accept its results.

“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results. … At the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States, and loyalty to our conscience and to our God.

“My allegiance to all three is why I am here to say: While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she said.

One hundred and eight days after her campaign began, the self-described “joyful warrior” spoke about her loss in determined terms as she sought to reassure the American people.

“I know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. I get it. But we must accept the results of this election,” she said.

Closing a chapter in the history books after a tense campaign, the vice president offered a call to supporters to “roll up our sleeves” in response to the election results.

“Do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize, and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together,” she said in her 12-minute remarks.

She vowed to wage that fight “in the voting booth, in the courts, and in the public square,” as well as in “quieter ways: By treating one another with kindness and respect … by always using our strength to lift people up.”

She also sent messages to her more youthful supporters.

“To the young people who are watching, it is okay to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it’s going to be OK. On the campaign, I would often say, ‘When we fight, we win.’ But here’s the thing, here’s the thing, sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win. That doesn’t mean we won’t win,” she said.

“The important thing is don’t ever give up. Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place,” she continued. “You have the capacity to do extraordinary good in the world.”

With the glass ceiling still intact, Harris did not directly address the nation’s failure to reach the historic, barrier-breaking outcome of a female president for the second time, something she largely avoided highlighting on the campaign trail, rather letting surrogates do the talking for her.

But she offered a nod to the moment: “Don’t you ever listen when anyone tells you something is impossible because it has never been done before.”

The speech marked a conclusion to a historic and tumultuous election season that included President Joe Biden’s decision to step aside following a catastrophic debate performance. His running mate quickly consolidated the party’s support, ascending to the top of the Democratic ticket.

Harris wore a dark suit late Wednesday afternoon and walked out to Beyoncé’s up-tempo anthem, “Freedom,” as she has throughout her time on the campaign trail, pausing for several moments as the crowd applauded her.

Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, could be seen crying, as well as multiple attendees standing in the front row before her.

Source: CNN

World

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November 6, 2024
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2 minutes Read

Donald Trump elected US president in stunning comeback

Donald Trump has been elected president, capping a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House and ushering in a new American leadership likely to test democratic institutions at home and relations abroad.

Trump, 78, recaptured the White House yesterday by securing more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency, Edison Research projected, following a campaign of dark rhetoric that deepened the polarization in the country.

The former president’s victory in the swing state of Wisconsin pushed him over the threshold. As of 5:45 a.m. ET (1045 GMT) Trump had won 279 electoral votes to Harris’ 223 with several states yet to be counted.

He also led Harris by about 5 million votes in the popular count. “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump said early on Wednesday to a roaring crowd of supporters at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in Florida.

Trump’s political career appeared to be over after his false claims of election fraud led a mob of supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a failed bid to overturn his 2020 defeat.

But he swept away challengers inside his Republican Party and then beat Democratic candidate Kamala Harris by capitalizing on voter concerns about high prices and what Trump claimed, without evidence, was a rise in crime due to illegal immigration.

Harris did not speak to supporters who had gathered at her alma mater Howard University. Her campaign co-chair, Cedric Richmond, briefly addressed the crowd after midnight, saying Harris would speak publicly later.

Republicans won a U.S. Senate majority, but neither party appeared to have an edge in the fight for control of the House of Representatives where Republicans currently hold a narrow majority.

Major stock markets around the world rallied following Trump’s victory, and the dollar was set for its biggest one-day jump since 2020.

His diatribes were often aimed at migrants, who he said were “poisoning the blood of the country,” or Harris, whom he frequently derided as unintelligent.

Despite legal woes and controversies, Trump is only the second former president to win a second term after leaving the White House. The first was Grover Cleveland, who served two four-year terms starting in 1885 and 1893.