Paul Pelosi (L) and Home Minority Chief Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) attend the 2018 White Home Correspondents’ Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 28, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Tasos Katopodis | Getty Pictures
Police physique digicam footage from final yr’s vicious hammer assault on then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband at their San Francisco dwelling was made public Friday.
The video, first obtained by NBC News affiliate KNTV, exhibits police approaching Pelosi’s dwelling, after which the door being opened with Pelosi standing subsequent to the suspect within the case, David DePape. Each males are holding onto a hammer.
The video, first obtained by NBC Information affiliate KNTV, exhibits police approaching Pelosi’s dwelling, after which the door being opened with Pelosi standing subsequent to the suspect within the case, David DePape. Each males are holding a hammer.
Requested what is going on on, DePape says, “The whole lot’s good.”
“Drop the hammer,” one of many officers says. “Nope,” DePape replies, earlier than shortly wresting it from Pelosi and attacking him with it. The officers instantly sort out DePape, and Pelosi is seen mendacity immobile on the bottom. The time between the door being opened and the hammer assault is about 14 seconds.
The proof was launched after a coalition of stories organizations, together with NBC Information, made a movement to the choose presiding over the case in opposition to Paul Pelosi’s alleged attacker David DePape arguing it ought to be made public.
Prosecutors from the San Francisco district legal professional’s workplace had refused to launch the proof to the media, telling the choose they’d issues that the video footage publicly could possibly be manipulated in a bid to unfold false info.
San Francisco County Superior Court docket Choose Stephen Murphy sided with the group of 13 information organizations, who contended the courtroom information ought to be made public and that their launch would assist fight disinformation within the case. The choose famous Wednesday when he issued his determination that the proof — which additionally contains Pelosi’s 911 name — was played in open court at a preliminary listening to final month.
Within the state case, DePape, 42, is charged with tried homicide, assault with a lethal weapon, elder abuse, residential housebreaking, false imprisonment and threatening a public official for the Oct. 28 assault on the 82-year-old Pelosi.
He additionally faces two federal charges stemming from the assault – tried kidnapping and assault with intent to retaliate in opposition to a federal official by threatening or injuring a member of the family.
DePape has pleaded not responsible in each instances.
In courtroom filings, state prosecutors mentioned he instructed officers on the scene his true goal was Nancy Pelosi, who was not within the dwelling on the time.
“I am sick of the insane f—— degree of lies popping out of Washington, D.C. I got here right here to have just a little chat together with his spouse,” DePape mentioned, based on the submitting.
“I did not actually need to harm him, however this was a suicide mission. I am not going to face right here and do nothing even when it value me my life,” he allegedly mentioned.
The federal criticism mentioned DePape instructed police he was “going to carry Nancy hostage and speak to her.”
“If Nancy had been to inform DePape the ‘fact,’ he would let her go, and if she ‘lied,’ he was going to interrupt ‘her kneecaps,'” the criticism alleged.
Paul Pelosi suffered a fractured cranium and accidents to his arms and fingers in the course of the assault.
Nancy Pelosi instructed reporters on the Capitol Thursday that she was unsure if she would watch the video. “I imply, it could be a really exhausting factor to see an assault on my husband’s life,” she mentioned.
— Zoë Richards contributed.
