Judge dismisses attempted murder charge against man who attacked Paul Pelosi

A judge has dismissed attempted murder charges in a state case against the man who attacked the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with a hammer.

San Francisco Judge Harry M. Dorfman on Thursday granted a request by David DePape’s defense attorneys to drop charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse, The New York Times reported.

The charges were dropped after DePape’s lawyers argued that re-prosecuting him at the state level would be double jeopardy. DePape was convicted at the federal level in November of assaulting a close family member of a federal official and attempted kidnapping of a federal official.

In the October 2022 attack, DePape showed up at Pelosi’s home and planned to kidnap her. Instead, he confronted her husband, then-82-year-old Paul Pelosi, who was home alone. During the ensuing attack, DePape struck Paul Pelosi with a hammer.

DePape was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the charges against him. DePape still faces a life sentence as his trial in federal court is ongoing.

Although other charges were dropped in the state’s lawsuit, DePape still faces charges including false imprisonment, burglary and aggravated kidnapping.

During his resentencing hearing in court last month, DePape apologized for the attack.

“I’m sorry for what I did, especially what I did to Paul Pelosi,” David DePape said outside the court in San Francisco. “I should never have hurt him.”