What Happened to David Wayne DePape?

David Wayne DePape gained national notoriety following his violent home invasion and assault on Paul Pelosi, the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on October 28, 2022. DePape, driven by a belief in various far-right conspiracy theories including QAnon and Pizzagate, broke into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco with the intention of kidnapping Nancy Pelosi and interrogating her. When he found Paul Pelosi, he held him hostage before brutally attacking him with a hammer as police arrived, fracturing Pelosi's skull and causing other severe injuries.

DePape was arrested at the scene and subsequently faced both federal and state charges. In the federal case, he was indicted on charges of assault of an immediate family member of a federal official with intent to retaliate, and attempted kidnapping of a federal official. His federal trial began in November 2023, where his defense argued he was motivated by conspiracy theories rather than a desire to interfere with Nancy Pelosi's official duties. However, a jury found him guilty on both federal counts on November 16, 2023.

Federal sentencing occurred on May 17, 2024, where DePape was sentenced to 30 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. A second sentencing hearing was held on May 28, 2024, after the judge realized she had not offered DePape an opportunity to make a statement, during which he apologized for his actions. Separately, DePape faced state charges including attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, and elder abuse. His state trial commenced in May 2024. On June 6, 2024, a judge dismissed some of these state charges, including attempted murder, citing double jeopardy given his federal conviction.

Despite the dismissal of some charges, a state jury found DePape guilty of five remaining state charges on June 21, 2024, including aggravated kidnapping, first-degree residential burglary, and false imprisonment of an elder. On October 29, 2024, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for these state convictions. DePape's legal challenges continued into 2025 and 2026. In December 2025, his defense appealed his federal sentence, citing constitutional violations during the trial. However, on March 25, 2026, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed both his federal conviction and sentence, ruling that there was sufficient evidence to support the charges.

Most recently, on July 2, 2026, the 1st District Court of Appeal upheld the earlier dismissal of the attempted murder, elder abuse, and assault with a deadly weapon charges in the state case, confirming that California's double jeopardy protections barred retrying him for conduct that formed the basis of his federal convictions. As of October 6, 2026, David DePape remains incarcerated, serving both his federal and state sentences.