Paul Pelosi Attacker Resentenced to 30 Years in Prison

The husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Paul Pelosi (R), fights for control of a hammer with his assailant David DePape during an attack in the couple's San Francisco home on Oct. 28, 2022, in a still from police body-camera video. San Francisco Police Department via AP

David DePape, the man convicted of assaulting the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), has been resentenced to 30 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Corley of the Northern District of California sentenced Mr. DePape on May 28 to 30 years in prison, the same sentence she handed down on May 17. However, because she failed to allow him to speak during the earlier court proceeding, the judge reopened his sentencing, leading to the May 28 resentencing.

“It’s completely on me,” Judge Corley said in court, according to ABC7. “I’m truly sorry for my mistake.”

After apologizing to Mr. DePape, the judge said she would “carefully consider” what he had to say before handing down a sentence.

Mr. DePape, who struck Ms. Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, in the head with a hammer after breaking into his California home in October 2022, apologized for his actions.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” Mr. DePape said. “Especially what I did to Paul Pelosi. I should have just left the house when I realized Nancy Pelosi wasn’t home. I feel horrible about what I did to Paul.”

The judge handed Mr. DePape, a Canadian who moved to the United States more than 20 years ago, the same sentence as during the previous hearing. She said that she had taken into account his lack of criminal history but that the severity of his crimes warranted a severe punishment that needed to send a message.

Terrorism Enhancement

In November 2023, a federal jury found Mr. DePape guilty of attempting to kidnap Ms. Pelosi and assaulting her husband, both on account of her official duties as a member of Congress and as House speaker.

During testimony, Mr. DePape confessed to breaking into the Pelosi residence in the early hours of Oct. 28, 2022, before attacking Mr. Pelosi with a hammer.

He said his plan was to take the speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps” if she lied to him. Mr. DePape told police officers after his arrest that if this occurred and she appeared in Congress in a wheelchair, it would serve as a warning to other members about the consequences of their actions. He described Ms. Pelosi as the “leader of the pack of [expletive] liars.”

Mr. DePape also testified that he planned to target others after Ms. Pelosi, including President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, billionaire George Soros, actor Tom Hanks, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Prosecutors argued that Mr. DePape’s crimes—committed a week before the 2022 congressional midterm elections—were calculated to influence the conduct of government.

Even though Mr. DePape was not convicted of terrorism, his offenses amounted to the “federal crime of terrorism,” which is defined as an offense that “is calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct,” according to a sentencing memorandum filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on May 10.

Prosecutors argued in the sentencing memo that Mr. DePape has not shown any remorse and deserves no leniency for the two crimes that he was convicted of last year—attempted kidnapping and assault on account of a federal official’s performance of official duties.

The charges carry maximum prison sentences of 20 years and 30 years, respectively. Prosecutors argued that a terrorism enhancement should be applied to Mr. DePape’s sentencing because his crimes were calculated to intimidate or retaliate against a government official and should be deemed a “federal crime of terrorism.”

The terrorism enhancement that prosecutors were seeking would have resulted in a total of 40 years in prison, with 10 years of the two sentences running consecutively and the rest concurrently.

In this courtroom sketch, David DePape appears at a hearing in San Francisco on Nov. 15, 2022. Vicki Behringer/Reuters

Sending a Message

In sentencing Mr. DePape on May 17, Judge Corley opted for some leniency. She sentenced him to 20 years for one count and 30 years for the other but ordered both sentences to run concurrently. Mr. DePape was also given credit for the 18 months he'd already been in custody.

However, during the May 17 sentencing hearing, the court failed to allow Mr. DePape an opportunity to speak or present information that could reduce his sentence, which is a requirement under federal law.

Mr. DePape’s attorneys objected to the sentencing, which led to the judge’s decision to reopen the sentencing. Judge Corley acknowledged that it was the court’s responsibility to ask Mr. DePape if he wished to speak, and the failure to do so constituted a “clear error.”

David DePape in Berkeley, Calif., on Dec. 13, 2013. Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via AP

His attorneys later filed a motion opposing the judge’s decision to reopen Mr. DePape’s sentencing hearing and asked for the case to be assigned to a different judge. The motion was not accepted.

The judge said in court on May 28 that the 30-year sentence was justified to send a message about the serious nature of Mr. DePape’s crimes.

“The message has to be out there that it’s absolutely unacceptable to our democracy,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.