Judge finds error and will reopen sentencing for man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul | News

On Friday, District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley sentenced David DePape to 20 years for the attempted kidnapping of Nancy Pelosi and 30 years for the Oct. 28, 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi, the maximum sentence in both cases. The sentences would run simultaneously. DePape also received credit for the 18 months he spent in custody.

But in a court filing over the weekend, Corley said it was a “clear error” on her part not to give DePape the opportunity to make a statement before sentencing, as required by law. She scheduled a new hearing for May 28.

Neither prosecutors nor DePape’s defense attorneys pointed out Corley’s oversight at Friday’s hearing. “Nevertheless, it was the court’s responsibility to personally ask Mr. DePape if he wanted to speak,” Corley wrote.

Hours after Corley announced the sentence, prosecutors filed a motion noting that the court had not given DePape the opportunity “to speak or provide information that could mitigate the sentence,” as required by federal law. They asked the court to resume sentencing to give him this opportunity, saying the court had 14 days to correct a verdict that was based on an error.

However, DePape’s defense said it opposed bringing their client back to trial, the prosecutor’s filing said.

DePape’s defense attorneys appealed the verdict shortly after the verdict was announced Friday. Corley gave them until Wednesday to respond to her order to reopen the sentencing hearing.

A jury found DePape, 44, guilty in November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on an immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison sentence.

The attack on then-82-year-old Paul Pelosi was captured on police body camera video just days before the 2022 midterm elections and sent shockwaves across the political world. He suffered two head wounds, including a fractured skull, which was repaired with plates and screws that he will wear for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.

Before the verdict was announced, one of DePape’s lawyers, Angela Chuang, asked the judge to reconsider the prison sentences for those involved in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

“The five most severe sentences for people convicted of seditious conspiracy, literally conspiring to overthrow the government, are between 15 and 22 years,” Chuang said.

Corley said the comparison to Jan. 6 does not adequately reflect the severity of breaking into the private home of an elected official. The attack on the home could have a chilling effect on future candidates for office, she said, adding that she believes DePape still poses a danger to society.

“I have seen nothing to suggest that if given the opportunity he would not again resort to his unfounded beliefs,” she said.

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

DePape also admitted to beating Paul Pelosi to death with a hammer when police showed up and said his plan to end what he saw as government corruption was faltering.

At trial, DePape, a Canadian who moved to the United States more than 20 years ago, testified that he believed news outlets had repeatedly lied about former President Donald Trump. In tirades posted on a blog and online forum that were removed after his arrest, DePape reiterated the baseless, right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory that the U.S. government is run by a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles.

Corley said DePape will be held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and will be deported after serving his sentence.