Paul Pelosi Attacker David DePape Resentenced To 30 Years In Jail, Gives Apology To Pelosi Family

David DePape, the man who assaulted and severely injured Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Speaker of the House and current Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), was resentenced to 30 years in jail on Tuesday following giving an apology to the Pelosi family.

On October 28, 2022, Paul Pelosi, then home alone in San Francisco, was attacked by DePape. Armed with a hammer, DePape broke into the Pelosi home and began calling out for the Speaker, causing Paul Pelosi to call the police and confront the man. DePape soon began trying to tie him up while saying that he wanted to do the same to his wife. A scuffle soon broke out, which at that time police arrived in time to see DePape start to attack Pelosi. Special agents from the U.S. Capitol Police’s California Field Office and SFPD officers quickly tackled DePape as a result and arrested him.

Pelosi recovered from his injuries, while DePape has been in jail for over the year, being a subject of a joint SFPD, FBI, and Capitol Police investigation. In the year since, DePape has said that his real target was Nancy Pelosi, that he had planned to break her kneecaps for ‘lying’, and that he had several other prominent officials and celebrities on his attack list, including Governor Gavin Newsom, actor Tom Hanks and President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.

DePape was eventually charged by the federal government with one count each of “attempted kidnapping of a federal official in the performance of official duties” and “assaulting an immediate member of a federal official’s family and inflicting a serious injury with a dangerous weapon”. The San Francisco DA also charged him with another six counts, including attempted murder, residential burglary, elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment of an elder, and threatening the family member of public official.

The federal trial began in November 2023, with many expecting to take several weeks. However, the timeline was shortened significantly when DePape’s legal team admitted that he did indeed attack Pelosi. Rather than challenge that, they went after how his motivation for the assault didn’t match charges against him, aiming for lesser charges rather than being outright not guilty. This admission led the jury to deliberate only days after the trial had started. They soon found him guilty of one count each of kidnapping and assault, with DePape to serve up to 50 years behind bars due to his crimes. DePape’s lawyers had asked for only 14 years in prison, citing mental illness. Sentencing was finally handed down on May 17th, with DePape being sentenced to 30 years in prison plus 5 years of supervised release.

“This sentence is a warning: violence against those who serve the public and their families will not be tolerated,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement earlier this month. “The Justice Department will aggressively prosecute those who target public servants and their families with violence. In a democracy, people vote, argue, and debate to achieve the policy outcome they desire. But the promise of democracy is that people will not employ violence to affect that outcome.”

Pelosi attacker resentenced to 30 years in prison

However, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley was forced to reopen the case only days later. It was found that prosecutors had forgotten to “address the defendant personally in order to permit the defendant to speak or present any information to mitigate the sentence.” Not wanting to leave room open for a mistrial as final statements like defendants could help influence sentencing, Corley ordered resentencing for May 28th.

“I’m truly sorry for my mistake,” explained Corley on Tuesday. “I want to apologize for you having to be here this morning. It’s completely on me.”

This allowed DePape to make a final statement. Speaking in front of the court, DePape apologized for his actions, saying that “I feel horrible for hurting Mr. Pelosi. I pledge to never do anything violent like that to anyone ever again. I’m sorry for what I did, especially what I did to Paul Pelosi. I should have never hurt him. Looking back, I can see I was not doing well.”

After the statement, Judge Corley didn’t budge on her original ruling, keeping the original 30 years in prison plus 5 years of supervised release.

“As much as it hurt and annoyed the family of Pelosi, what happened today was crucial as it left no stone unturned in the sentencing,” said Frank Ma, a former policeman and security consultant in the city, to the Globe on Tuesday. “Now, he for sure has those 30 years. Honestly, he probably should have gotten more, but this plus whatever the state gives him will for sure make it that he spends the rest of his life behind bars. Prosecutors wanted to send the message, and they sure as hell did today.”

A state trial over the incident, which includes counts of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, is expected to begin tomorrow in San Francisco. Should DePape be found guilty there, he may receive an additional decades-long state sentence, ensuring that he spends life behind prison on top of the 30 years in federal prison.