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The San Francisco Superior Court on Friday released video and audio recorded during last year’s attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, including police body camera footage showing the moment of the attack and the police interview of the alleged aggressor where he admitted that he wanted to hold the then president of the House hostage.
The video and audio files were released after a California court ruled that the district attorney’s office must make the materials public.
One of the videos shows body camera footage from officers who arrived at Pelosi’s home on Oct. 28, 2022, when he was attacked. The images show the chaos of the moment in which the alleged attacker David DePape attacked.
In the video, Paul Pelosi and DePape appear to have one hand on the gavel and DePape is holding Pelosi’s arm as the officers opened the door.
“Drop the hammer,” the officer says.
“Uh, no,” DePape replies.
DePape then grabbed the hammer from Pelosi’s hand, lunged at him while hitting him over the head. The officers rushed into the home, subdued DePape and handcuffed him.
In addition to body camera footage, the files include audio of a police interview with DePape, the 911 call Paul Pelosi made while DePape was at the home, and surveillance video showing DePape breaking into the home.
The files were released at a preliminary court hearing. The court’s decision ordering the materials to be released to the public followed a motion by a coalition of news organizations, including CNN, which argued that the circumstances surrounding the residence of the then House speaker called for transparency.
DePape’s lawyers argued against the release of the audio and images, writing that it would “irreparably harm” his right to a fair trial. DePape has pleaded not guilty to a litany of state and federal crimes related to the attack, including assault and attempted murder.
Speaking briefly to reporters on Friday afternoon, Nancy Pelosi said she had “absolutely no intention of watching the deadly assault on my husband’s life.” She said that Paul Pelosi is “making progress, but it will take longer” and that she would not comment further publicly on the case.
In the audio recording of DePape’s interview with a San Francisco police officer after his arrest in October, DePape admitted to attacking Paul Pelosi and described his plans to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage when he broke into the woman’s home. couple in san francisco
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not trying to get away with it, so, you know, I know exactly what I did,” DePape said toward the beginning of the 17-minute audio clip.
“Well, I was basically going to take her hostage and I was going to talk to her,” DePape said of Nancy Pelosi. “If she told the truth, she would set you free from her. If she lied, she would break his kneecaps.”
In the interview, DePape espoused conspiracy theories about the Democrats and Pelosi, complained about a Democratic “crime wave,” and baselessly claimed that Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats had spied on the campaign of former President Donald Trump.
“They are the criminals,” DePape said.
The officer walked DePape through his raid on Pelosi’s home and his encounter with Paul Pelosi. When asked why he didn’t leave after Paul Pelosi called the police, DePape compared himself to the Founding Fathers’ fight against the British.
“When I left my house, I left to fight against tyranny. I didn’t come out to go give up,” she said.
DePape explained why he attacked Paul Pelosi after the police arrived, when they were both holding a hammer. “He thinks I’m just going to give up, and it’s like he didn’t come there to give up,” DePape said. “And I told him that I would go through him. So basically I throw it away from him and hit him.”
In the audio of the 911 call, Pelosi appeared to be subtly trying to tell the dispatcher that she was in danger while DePape was listening. CNN previously reported that Pelosi made the call when he walked into his bathroom, where he was charging his cell phone.
“There is a gentleman here waiting for my wife, Nancy Pelosi, to return. He’s just waiting for her to come back, but she won’t be here for days, so I guess we’ll just have to wait,” Pelosi told the dispatcher.
He thinks everything is fine. I have a problem, but he thinks everything is fine,” Pelosi said at another point in the 2-minute, 56-second recording.
The dispatcher asked Pelosi if she knew who the man was, and Pelosi said no. “He’s telling me to hang up the phone and do what he says,” Pelosi said.
“Who is David?” asked the dispatcher.
“I don’t know,” Pelosi said.
DePape later spoke about the call. “I’m a friend of theirs,” he said.
He says he’s a friend. But like I said…” Pelosi said.
“But you don’t know who he is?” replied the dispatcher.
“No, ma’am,” Pelosi said.
In surveillance footage, DePape is seen breaking into Pelosi’s home. The scene was captured by a US Capitol Police security camera installed at Pelosi’s San Francisco residence.
The attack on Paul Pelosi was a factor in Nancy Pelosi’s decision to withdraw from the House Democratic leadership, she previously said.
Court documents revealed that DePape allegedly woke Paul Pelosi up shortly after 2 a.m., with a large hammer and several white zip ties, and demanded: “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy? He then threatened to tie up Paul Pelosi and prevented her from escaping in an elevator, according to the documents. DePape later allegedly told him, “I can get you out.”
After the attack, Paul Pelosi underwent surgery “to repair a fractured skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hand,” a spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. On Thursday, Nancy Pelosi said her husband’s recovery was “one day at a time.” She said she didn’t know if she would see the video when it was posted.
This story has been updated with additional reports.
