A right-wing conspiracy theorist who attacked the husband of a former U.S. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, with a hammer was convicted of a host of charges in state court on Friday following his conviction in federal court last year.

A California jury convicted David DePape of kidnapping, burglary, false imprisonment, threatening the family member of a public official, and dissuading a witness.

The state conviction could add more prison time for Mr DePape, who, in May, was sentenced by a U.S. district judge to 30 years in federal prison for attempted kidnapping and assault of an immediate family member of a federal official.

The state charges carry a potential sentence of up to life in prison.

Mr DePape, 44, broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home and struck Paul Pelosi over the head with a hammer in the early morning of October 28, 2022, while Mrs Pelosi, a Democrat, was still speaker of the House of Representatives and away in Washington.

Mrs Pelosi remains a member of the House.

After the conviction, a spokesperson for Mrs Pelosi issued a statement on behalf of the family, praising Mr Pelosi for his “bravery” in testifying in the state trial, as he had in the federal case.

“For nearly 20 gruelling months, Mr Pelosi has demonstrated extraordinary courage and fortitude every day of his recovery.

“The Pelosi family is grateful for the kind thoughts and prayers they continue to receive,” said the statement.

It added that there would be no further comment until sentencing is complete.

Mr Pelosi was knocked unconscious and hospitalised for several days, undergoing surgery for skull fractures. He also sustained injuries to his hands and right arm.

Evidence in the federal trial showed Mr DePape was driven by right-wing conspiracy theories, embracing the fictions spread by QAnon, questioning the Holocaust, and feeding off political accusations against Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, and George Soros, the billionaire Holocaust survivor.

Mr DePape’s defence attorneys did not contest the evidence at either trial and focused on his state of mind and how he was consumed by conspiracy theories.

The convict told the federal jury he wanted to kidnap Mrs Pelosi, interrogate her, and break her kneecaps if he found her to be lying.

However, after breaking in, he instead found her husband, then aged 82, asleep in his bed.

Mr DePape said the attack was a reaction to his original plan going awry.

“He was never my target, and I’m sorry he got hurt,” Mr DePape said.

(Reuters/NAN)