Court releases graphic video of attack on Paul Pelosi

A San Francisco court on Friday released a graphic video showing the moment an intruder wielding a hammer attacked Paul Pelosi, the husband of then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, inside the couple’s home.

David DePape is accused of breaking into the lawmaker’s San Francisco home in the early hours of Oct. 28, 2022, and attacking Paul Pelosi, fracturing the 82-year-old’s skull and causing other serious injuries. DePape has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder and threats to a public official and their family.

The body-camera footage, which confirms the narrative investigators provided after the attack, shows police arriving at the Pacific Heights home to find Pelosi and the suspect standing calmly each with a hand on a large hammer.

After police demanded they drop the weapon, DePape wrested control of the hammer, swung it above his head and hit Pelosi, according to police and the video.

Officers darted into the home and tackled DePape as Pelosi lay motionless.

Other evidence released by the court Friday includes a recording of Pelosi’s 911 call, video footage from a Capitol Police security camera outside the Pelosi home, and a recording of DePape’s interview with San Francisco police.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi briefly addressed the release of the evidence in comments to reporters at the Capitol on Friday.

“I have not heard the 911 call. I have not heard the confession. I have not seen the break-in, and I have absolutely no intention of seeing the deadly assault on my husband’s life,” she said.

Nancy Pelosi thanked people for prayers for his recovery and said her husband is “making progress but it will take more time.”

A coalition of at least a dozen news organizations, including the Los Angeles Times, asked the court to order the San Francisco district attorney’s office to release copies of the records already submitted into evidence, arguing that the news media and public had a right to review them.

DePape’s lawyers opposed making that evidence public, saying it could jeopardize his right to a fair trial and stir up more misinformation about the case. The attack on Pelosi spawned a flurry of unfounded conspiracy theories online, including on popular social media platforms.

San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy disagreed with those objections, dismissing them as speculation. He said that while the right to a fair trial is “certainly a legitimate concern in any case,” the court couldn’t withhold the release of records out of fear that they could be manipulated.

The evidence the court released is limited to material that was submitted during a December hearing. Though the videos were shown in court and reported on by media at the time, news organizations did not have access to make the material available to the public until the court order this week.

The Capitol Police video shows a man walking up to a glass door on the exterior of the Pelosi home. He looks through the glass, walks away, and then returns wearing a large backpack and carrying a bag. He sets the bags down and removes several items, including a hammer.