It's been over 18 months since David DePape, the man who violently assaulted former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul in front of two police officers in October 2022, admitted to the crime. But the wheels of justice grind slowly forward.
DePape was convicted in November on federal charges of attempted kidnapping of a federal official — he allegedly arrived at the Pelosi home in Pacific Heights at 2 am on October 28, 2022 and found his way to the Pelosis' bedroom saying, "Where's Nancy?" — and assault on a family member of a government official.
The federal sentencing hearing is scheduled for this Friday, May 17, and federal prosecutors are seeking the maximum of 40 years for the two charges. In discussing the scheduling for this sentencing last month, DePape's defense attorneys were arguing for a further delay, as KPIX reported, because his state trial was finally set to begin on May 7. But U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley rejected that request, saying that May 17 had already been scheduled to be a day off in the state trial, and that publicity in the case shouldn't be a factor.
DePape's trial for attempted murder and other charges in San Francisco Superior Court has been delayed several times, having originally been set to begin back in January. January came and went, and we learned a March 1 trial date had been set, but that was apparently pushed to May 7 — and it's not clear what stage the trial is in or if jury selection has even begun, since that was only last Tuesday, and the District Attorney's Office has not provided any updates.
Courthouse News reported in November that DePape's attorney in the state case had indicated he was open to a plea deal, following the conviction in federal court.
The public defenders in the federal case are arguing for leniency for several reasons, including pointing to statements DePape made at trial that suggested some remorse for the attack on Pelosi. But in other public statements DePape has made, he has expressed little remorse — and in one damaging jailhouse interview with KTVU last year, he said, "I have an important message for everyone in America: You're welcome," and "I'm so sorry I didn't get more of them."
According to a former employer, DePape was radicalized by spending too much time on the internet in recent years. Having escaped homelessness after being kicked out of a living situation with former partner Gypsy Taub, DePape had been living in a rented garage in Richmond. And blog writings that he posted during his time living there suggested he had been indoctrinated into the world of QAnon and various far-right-wing conspiracy theories that cast Nancy Pelosi as a central villain and criminal.
DePape told investigators after his arrest that he saw himself as a kind of patriot and freedom fighter, and that he had gone to find Pelosi in order to hold her accountable for her "lies" and corruption. He said he had planned to break her kneecaps with the hammer he'd brought along if she continued to lie to him.
DePape's stepdaughter, Inti Gonzalez, now 22, has said she believes DePape is mentally ill, and she said she was not so surprised by his act of violence because of the physical abuse she and her brothers allegedly endured at his hands.
In arguing for leniency, federal public defenders Jodi Linker and Angela Chuang have turned things back on DePape's relationship with Taub, suggesting that he had been the victim of abuse. As KTVU reports, in their sentencing memo, the lawyers wrote that DePape had been in an "abusive, long-term relationship with a partner who exploited his innate vulnerabilities and immersed him in a world of extreme beliefs where reality is not reality."
Linker and Chuang are requesting a 14-year sentence on the federal charges.
While Taub espouses more left-wing politics, she has admitted that she and DePape shared a passion for conspiracy theories. In an interview from jail days after the Pelosi attack, Taub said that DePape "didn’t know anything about politics" when she first met him in 2000, but she said that while DePape had supported Obama and was more left-leaning in the past, she and he both were/are "against the shadow government."
It remains to be seen, after Friday's sentencing, whether a trial will actually take place on the state charges, or if the matter will end up being settled in a plea agreement.
If he receives the maximum of 40 years, DePape would be in his 80s before he'd be out of federal prison. Any additional sentence on the state charges would likely amount to a life sentence regardless.
Previously: David DePape Found Guilty of Assaulting Paul Pelosi In Federal Trial