Getty/Police Body Cam Paul Pelosi (L) and a scene from the body cam video.
The San Francisco police body cam video from the October 28, 2022, hammer attack that injured Paul Pelosi at his California home has been released. You can watch the video later in this article.
Be forewarned that the full video is graphic as it shows the moment Pelosi was struck with the weapon. The video shows the suspect suddenly lunging toward Pelosi with the hammer as Pelosi stands near the doorway. Pelosi has a glass or drink in his hand, although it’s not clear what’s in it. A state complaint charging suspect David Depape with the attack says Pelosi was wearing a pajama top and boxer shorts because he was startled awake.
Pelosi is the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said in an earlier news conference that authorities received a 911 call from Paul Pelosi and encountered an “adult male and Pelosi’s husband, Paul” in the Pelosi home.
According to the Associated Press, Pelosi, 82, “suffered blunt force trauma to his head and body,” during the attack that left him with “bruising, severe swelling and other injuries.”
The 911 call was also released.
🚨 BREAKING: The 911 Call from the night of the attack on Paul Pelosi has been RELEASED
David Depape, a Berkeley resident with blog posts ranting about government, has been accused of crimes in relation to the attack. A press release in November 2022 from the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a “federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a California man with assault and attempted kidnapping in connection with the break in at the Pelosi residence on Oct. 28 in San Francisco.”
Lawyers for Depape argued against release of the video, saying it would harm his right to a fair trial, according to ABC7.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Graphic Paul Pelosi Body Cam Video Was Released After a Court Battle
🚨BREAKING: The Paul Pelosi bodycam video has been released.
Here is the full video.
The graphic video, which you can watch above in full, shows an officer knocking on the door as police arrive at the Pelosi residence.
“Paul Pelosi later described to police that he had been asleep when Depape, whom he had never seen before, entered his bedroom looking for Nancy Pelosi,” the DOJ press release says.
Depape is also facing state charges. The state complaint says the “defendant forcefully broke into the Pelosi home intending to take the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, as his hostage.”
When the “defendant learned that he could not execute his plan, he proceeded instead to attack the 82-year-old man that stood in his way, Speaker Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi,” the complaint says.
In the video, the door opens with two men standing there. The state complaint identifies them as Depape and Paul Pelosi.
“What’s going on, man?” an officer says.
“Everything’s good,” the suspect says, according to the video, which shows him holding a hammer.
“Drop the hammer,” an officer says. The suspect responds, “Nope.”
“What is going on right now?” asks the officer.
At that point, the suspect swings the hammer, the video shows. Police react, and Pelosi is seen lying on the floor as both tumble to the ground.
On Twitter, some commentary about the body cam video focused on Pelosi holding a glass.
I have even more questions after watching the Paul Pelosi Body Cam video …
Was Paul Pelosi holding a beverage ?
“Why does Paul Pelosi have a drink in his hands? This just gets weirder by the minute,” a woman wrote.
Previously, Fox News reported that U.S. Capitol police video showed Depape breaking into the Pelosi residence.
The DOJ press release says:
According to the indictment, minutes after the 911 call, two police officers responded to the Pelosi residence where they encountered Paul Pelosi and DePape struggling over a hammer. Officers told the men to drop the hammer, and DePape allegedly gained control of the hammer and swung it, striking Pelosi in the head. Officers immediately restrained DePape while Pelosi was injured on the ground. As set forth in the indictment, once DePape was restrained, officers secured a roll of tape, white rope, a second hammer, a pair of rubber and cloth gloves, and zip ties from the crime scene, where officers also observed a broken glass door to the back porch.
The state complaint says that in “the middle of the night, Defendant smashed through a window in a back door of the Pelosi home in search of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.”
According to that complaint:
But Speaker Pelosi was not home, only her 82 -year-old husband, Paul, who slept upstairs in his pajama top and boxer shorts. Standing over Mr. Pelosi’s bedside just after 2:00 a.m., Defendant startled Mr. Pelosi awake by asking, ‘Are you Paul Pelosi?’ Defendant carried a large hammer in his right hand and several white, plastic zip ties in his left hand.
Defendant then repeated, ‘Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?’ Still groggy from being suddenly awoken, Mr. Pelosi responded, ‘She’s not here.’ Defendant then demanded, ‘Well, when is she going to be back?’ ‘She’s in Washington, she’s not going to be back for a couple of days.’ Defendant responded, ‘Okay, well, I’m going to tie you up.’
According to CBS News, a judge ordered the body cam video released to members of the news media at 9 a.m. on the morning of January 27, 2023.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy had ordered that the body cam video should be released despite prosecutors’ attempts to keep it sealed, CBS News reported, adding that a variety of news organizations sued to get the video.
The judge based his ruling in part on the fact that prosecutors had already played the video in open court, CBC News reported.
According to ABC7, the judge also ordered the release of other materials, such as audio of Depape’s interviews with police.
According to Politico, Pelosi made a secret 911 call after telling Depape that he needed to use the bathroom and was able to call 911 from inside it.
David Depape, Who Is Accused in the Attack on Paul Pelosi, Has a History of Online Writings
GettyDavid Depape is the suspect accused of attacking Paul Pelosi. Photographed here are Nancy and Paul Pelosi
Depape is accused of being fixated on censorship and making antisemitic comments on a blog and website that were reviewed by Heavy. In one post, he ranted about government attempts to control information, calling for the arrest of journalists from prominent news organizations. He also posted COVID and election conspiracy theories online and made posts about QAnon, according to posts reviewed by Heavy.
Scott said in a previous news conference that when officers arrived and knocked on the door of the Pelosi home, the door was opened “by someone inside.” Officers observed Pelosi and Depape inside the home’s foyer, he said.
They saw both men, each “with one hand on a single hammer,” Scott said in that news conference. Officers gave commands to both men to drop the hammer, Scott said. Depape pulled the hammer away from Pelosi and “violently attacked him with the hammer,” Scott said. Pelosi was struck at least one time, he said.
Officers entered and tackled the suspect and took him into custody, according to what Scott said at the time. He said that Depape “forced entry” through a rear door of the Pelosi home.
“This was not a random act. This was intentional. And it’s wrong,” Scott said in that news conference. He said that the family members of lawmakers and other elected officials “don’t sign up for this … Everybody should be disgusted about what happened this morning.”
A statement by Drew Hammill, spokesman for Nancy Pelosi, described the attack as a “violent assault.”
According to CNN, there is an increase in threats against lawmakers and their families.
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