Sentencing of Paul Pelosi attacker David DePape – NBC Bay Area

The man convicted of trying to take former Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and attacking her husband with a hammer two years ago apologized in federal court Tuesday, but was still sentenced to 30 years in prison in an unusual sentencing hearing resulting from a miscarriage of justice.

District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on May 17 sentenced David DePape to 20 years in prison for the attempted kidnapping of Nancy Pelosi and 30 years for the October 2022 assault on Paul Pelosi, the maximum for both counts. 'charge. The sentences would run simultaneously.

But she did not allow the accused to address the court during sentencing. Corley scheduled Tuesday's hearing for the limited purpose of allowing DePape to speak in an effort to lessen his sentence.

On Tuesday, she apologized to DePape, 44, and attorneys for her mistake and asked if he wanted to address the court.

DePape, wearing an orange shirt and orange pants with his hair in a short ponytail, said yes and began speaking quickly from a piece of paper.

“I'm sorry for what I did,” he said, adding that he felt horrible and that he never intended to hurt Pelosi and should have left home when he realized the old speaker was not there.

DePape said looking back on that time in his life, he wasn't doing well. Since then, he said, he has reconnected with his mother and other family members, which is helping him move forward. He became emotional at the end, prompting his lawyers to comfort him and pat him on the back.

Corley said the sentence should reflect the seriousness of the crime and act as a deterrent to people who might choose to break into elected officials' homes, take their spouses hostage and beat them.

“The message needs to get out: this is absolutely unacceptable for our democracy,” she said.

DePape will serve a 30-year sentence with credit for the 19 months he has already served, she said. His federal sentence is expected to run concurrently with any state sanctions imposed during DePape's trial. She said she expects he will be deported to Canada once he serves his sentence.

Neither prosecutors nor DePape's defense attorneys noted Corley's oversight during the May 17 hearing. But hours after Corley handed down the sentence, prosecutors filed a motion pointing out that the court had not afforded DePape the opportunity to “speak or present information to alleviate the sentence” as required the federal rule.

They asked the court to reopen the sentencing hearing to allow him that option.

DePape's defense attorneys, however, said in a filing that they opposed returning their client to court because it would interfere with his trial. DePape was charged in state court with attempted murder, elder abuse, residential burglary and other crimes. Opening statements in that trial are expected to begin Wednesday.

“Given Mr. DePape’s neurodiversity and mental health issues…preparing him for any resentencing hearing requires a significant amount of time, which necessarily takes away time from preparing for his trial,” they wrote.

DePape's defense attorneys had asked the judge to sentence him to 14 years in prison, noting that he was going through a difficult time at the time of the attack, that he suffered from undiagnosed mental health problems and that he had no criminal history.

Last year, a jury found DePape guilty in November of attempting to kidnap a federal official and assaulting a member of a federal official's immediate family. Prosecutors had requested a 40-year prison sentence.

The attack on Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time, was captured on police body camera just days before the 2022 midterm elections and stunned the political world. He suffered two head injuries, including a fractured skull that was repaired with plates and screws that he will keep for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.

Before the sentencing, one of DePape's attorneys, Angela Chuang, asked the judge to consider the prison sentences given to those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

“The five harshest sentences for people convicted of seditious conspiracy, literal conspiracy to overthrow the government, range from 15 to 22 years,” Chuang said.

Corley said the Jan. 6 analogy did not adequately reflect the severity of the intrusion into an elected official's private home. The home attack could have a deterrent effect on people seeking employment in the future, she said.

DePape admitted during the trial that he broke into Pelosis home on October 28, 2022, intending to take the speaker hostage and force her to admit to corruption. “If she lied, I would break her kneecaps,” he said. Nancy Pelosi was not home at the time.

DePape also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer when police arrived, saying his plan to end what he saw as government corruption was falling apart.