Judge grants motion to reopen sentencing in case of Paul Pelosi attacker

A federal judge has granted a motion to reopen the sentencing in the case against David DePape, the man convicted of the 2022 attack on House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, because he did not get a chance to speak during his sentencing hearing Friday.

The judge will reopen the sentencing portion of the case on May 28 at 9:30 a.m.

In a motion filed Saturday, the court admitted to the mistake, stating that federal rules require the “court, prior to imposing a sentence, to ‘address the defendant personally in order to permit the defendant to speak or present any information to mitigate the sentence.’ At the May 17, 2024 sentencing proceeding, no party brought to the Court’s attention that it had not done so. Nonetheless, it was the Court’s responsibility to personally ask Mr. DePape if he wanted to speak. As the Court did not do so, it committed clear error.”