A San Francisco judge has ordered that police body cam footage related to an October attack on Paul Pelosi be released.
The order comes after a coalition of news outlets filed a motion to release the footage on January 11. The coalition included such outlets as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Fox News.
NEW: San Francisco Judge GRANTS motion to release SFPD body cam footage of Paul Pelosi attack, other evidence sought by press coalition
— Jeremy B. White (@JeremyBWhite) January 25, 2023
“[T]he public and press have standing to assert their rights of access to court records and proceedings,” the coalition argued in its court filing.
The body camera footage was reportedly played in court in December and showed an assailant striking Pelosi with a hammer.
Pelosi, husband to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), was attacked on October 28 by a nudist activist who broke into the Pelosi residence seeking to kidnap the then-House speaker, prosecutors said in a pretrial hearing. The activist, who prosecutors identified as 42-year-old David DePape, attacked Paul Pelosi after not being able to locate his wife.
DePape has pleaded not guilty on all charges, which include both state and federal charges. He is expected to appear in state court on February 23 to set a date for his trial. He is being held in jail without bail.
Authorities said that San Francisco police entered the Pelosi residence around 2:30 a.m. local time on the night of the attack. Police saw an assailant and Pelosi struggling over a hammer, then saw the assailant “violently assault” Pelosi, the police said.
After the attack, Pelosi was taken to a hospital where he underwent “successful surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” a spokesman for Nancy Pelosi said at the time.
DePape broke into the house shouting “Where’s Nancy?” a court affidavit said.
DePape told first responders at the scene that he was sick of the “level of lies” from politicians in Washington, D.C., and “came here to have a little chat with [Paul Pelosi’s] wife,” according to a court filing.
“I didn’t really want to hurt him, but you know this was a suicide mission. I’m not going to stand here and do nothing even if it cost me my life,” DePape said, according to the filing.
DePape allegedly intended to attack other high profile figures as well. Police said DePape intended to target President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and actor Tom Hanks.
