Pelosi Attack: Body Camera Footage of Hammer Assault Released - The New York Times

Here’s what other to know:

• The video shows erstwhile officers approached the home, entered it and recovered the assailant and Mr. Pelosi lasting calmly, each with a manus connected a ample hammer. After the constabulary demanded that they driblet it, the intruder wrested power of the hammer, raised it supra his caput and slammed it into Mr. Pelosi’s skull, though the interaction itself occurred disconnected camera. As officers subdued the assailant, Mr. Pelosi laic motionless connected his side.

• The suspect, Mr. DePape, a Canadian who was 42 astatine the clip of his apprehension and in the United States illegally, faces galore charges, including attempted murder, battle with a deadly weapon, attempted kidnapping of a national serviceman and battle connected a household subordinate of a national official. Mr. DePape has pleaded not guilty, and the adjacent proceeding successful the lawsuit is scheduled for Feb. 23, erstwhile a proceedings day volition beryllium set.

• Judge Stephen M. Murphy, who is overseeing the transgression lawsuit against Mr. DePape, ordered the merchandise of the evidence aft a consortium of media outlets petitioned the tribunal to marque it disposable to the public. Both the prosecution and the defence objected.

• Mr. DePape told detectives helium was connected a ngo to seizure and interrogate Ms. Pelosi, and that helium wanted to interruption her kneecaps if she “lied” to him. He said helium besides planned to face a section prof and respective salient authorities and national politicians.

• Surveillance footage of the home from the Capitol Police shows that the assailant spent astir 4 minutes extracurricular earlier breaking in. Capitol Police officers were not watching successful existent time, a nonaccomplishment that has raised questions astir whether they could person thwarted the attack.

• Ms. Pelosi, a apical Democrat who had agelong been the people of right-wing attacks, was the House talker astatine the time, making her 2nd successful the statesmanlike enactment of succession. She was successful Washington astatine the clip of the attack. Some blimpish figures mocked her husband’s beating. Mr. Pelosi spent six days successful a San Francisco hospital and underwent country for a skull fracture.

Mr. DePape, a Canadian who was 42 astatine the clip and aboriginal identified arsenic being successful the United States illegally, acknowledged his guilt from the archetypal moments of the interview, telling his interrogator aft she work him his Miranda rights: “I’m not trying to, like, get distant with it. I cognize precisely what I did.”

He said helium had been motivated by his content successful a right-wing conspiracy mentation that Democratic officials had spied connected Donald J. Trump’s 2016 statesmanlike run and past committed a “record-breaking transgression spree” done the 4 years of the Trump medication “until they were yet capable to bargain the election.” None of those claims are true.

His volition erstwhile helium broke into the Pelosis’ location successful San Francisco, helium said, was to find Ms. Pelosi, “hold her hostage” and effort to get her to admit to the contents of the conspiracy theory. If she admitted it, helium said, “I’d fto her spell scot-free.” If she didn’t, “I was going to interruption her kneecaps.”

In chilling detail, Mr. DePape recounted confronting Mr. Pelosi successful his bedroom, speaking with him and yet attacking him.

After discovering that Ms. Pelosi was not home, helium said, helium wanted to necktie Mr. Pelosi up “so I don’t person to interest astir what he’s doing” and past spell to sleep. He was tired, helium said, from carrying his backpack to the location and breaking done a window, whose spot helium complained about. He suggested circularly that Mr. Pelosi had made him onslaught by trying to halt him — saying that by retreating to a bath and calling 911, Mr. Pelosi had “pushed maine into a corner,” and that the accomplishment of the constabulary had forced him to beryllium that “I didn’t travel present to surrender.”

After Mr. Pelosi hung up with the 911 relation — having told her, arsenic captured successful audio of the call that was besides released connected Friday, that Mr. DePape was pressuring him to bash truthful — Mr. DePape led him from the bath backmost into the bedroom. There, helium said, Mr. Pelosi sat down connected the bed, and Mr. DePape informed him that “I can’t beryllium stopped by him. If I person to spell done him, I will.”

Then the 2 of them went downstairs, and, arsenic the constabulary arrived, struggled implicit Mr. DePape’s hammer.

“He thinks that I’ll conscionable surrender, and it’s like, I didn’t travel present to surrender, and I told him that I volition spell done him, and truthful I fundamentally yank it distant from him and deed him,” Mr. DePape said, adding, “If you halt maine from going aft evil, you volition instrumentality the punishment instead.”

At 1 point, the interrogator asked Mr. DePape if helium regretted his actions.

“No,” helium said. “It needed to beryllium done.”

Mr. Pelosi is heard saying determination is “a man present waiting for my wife,” whom helium identifies arsenic Nancy Pelosi. When the dispatcher asks if helium needs help, helium initially says no, but goes connected to stress that helium does not cognize the antheral who is successful his home.

Later, inactive successful a calm voice, helium indicates that the intruder is pressuring him to extremity the call, and helium provides his address. (The New York Times has redacted the code from the published audio.)

If prosecutors had not played the footage successful tribunal — which occurred during the preliminary proceedings of David DePape, the fishy — it could person been much arduous to get it. Unlike successful galore different states, courts successful California person ruled that records related to instrumentality enforcement investigations of crimes are exempt from nationalist records requests, and determination is nary day by which specified records, oregon assemblage camera footage, indispensable beryllium released to the public.

Even successful a transgression lawsuit that yet does not spell to proceedings oregon ends with an acquittal, instrumentality enforcement agencies usually person the authorization to support footage backstage indefinitely.

“California is 1 of the slightest transparent states erstwhile it comes to instrumentality enforcement,” Mr. Loy said.

With 1 notable exception: In 2018, aft a nationwide reckoning implicit excessive usage of unit by constabulary officers, California’s legislature passed a instrumentality that required footage to beryllium released successful cases involving constabulary officers utilizing unit that results successful decease oregon terrible injury, oregon erstwhile officers occurrence a gun, though that footage tin beryllium delayed successful immoderate instances, similar progressive investigations.

So successful the transgression lawsuit against Mr. DePape, aft a consortium of media outlets, including The New York Times, petitioned the tribunal to marque the footage disposable to the public, Judge Stephen M. Murphy had justification for ordering the merchandise of the evidence, contempt objections by the prosecution and the defense.

In cases wherever constabulary departments person much discretion, officials person respective considerations erstwhile deliberating implicit whether to merchandise footage, said Emily Owens, a criminology prof astatine the University of California, Irvine. Those see the privateness of victims oregon witnesses, specified arsenic children progressive successful a home unit episode.

Law enforcement officials whitethorn besides beryllium much oregon little motivated to people video depending connected whether it exonerates oregon condemns an officer’s behavior, Ms. Owens said, though sometimes a section volition merchandise footage that shows an serviceman “engaging successful out-of-policy behavior” due to the fact that the section wants to region that person’s behaviour from its ain policies.

She cautioned that assemblage camera footage tin beryllium imperfect oregon muffled, and not ever arsenic determinative arsenic 1 mightiness hope.

“It’s not ‘Cops’; this is real-life footage,” Ms. Owens said. “It’s not a world show, and truthful the footage itself tin sometimes not uncover each of the accusation the nationalist expects it to reveal, and that tin beryllium precise frustrating.”

First, it indicates that the attacker was extracurricular the Pelosis’ location for respective minutes earlier helium entered, meaning it mightiness person been imaginable to forestall the onslaught had the Capitol Police been monitoring the surveillance camera successful existent time.

Second, it unequivocally dispels a baseless conspiracy mentation that began circulating soon aft the attack: that the suspect, David DePape, had not breached successful but alternatively had been invited successful and past got into a combat with Mr. Pelosi.

The New York Times reported connected Nov. 1 that the Capitol Police were not monitoring the video provender from the Pelosi location successful existent time, and that costly minutes elapsed earlier Capitol officers saw the break-in.

By aboriginal December, astir 7 weeks later, Mr. Pelosi was good capable to marque his archetypal nationalist quality since the attack, astatine the Kennedy Center Honors successful Washington. Attending with Ms. Pelosi, helium received an enthusiastic ovation and smiled and waved to the crowd, wearing a achromatic chapeau and a azygous mitt that obscured immoderate disposable motion of his injuries.

Ms. Pelosi, a apical Democrat for galore years who was serving arsenic House talker erstwhile the onslaught occurred, announced 3 weeks aft the onslaught that she had decided to relinquish her enactment of House Democrats. On Jan. 3, arsenic the House convened nether its caller Republican bulk and opened its agonizing multiday process of electing Representative Kevin McCarthy arsenic speaker, Mr. Pelosi told CBS News that helium was “feeling well.”

But helium is not afloat backmost to normal, Ms. Pelosi said in an interrogation with CNN past week.

His wounds and injured tendons person healed, “but the caput is simply a antithetic thing,” she said. “You person to beryllium cautious astir movement. You person to beryllium cautious astir light. You person to beryllium cautious astir sound. And it conscionable takes a while. You get precise tired.”

Ms. Pelosi said that her husband’s constricted nationalist appearances had been important successful giving him things to look guardant to, but that for the astir part, helium had been resting.

She said Mr. Pelosi’s doctors had told him to expect different 3 to 4 months of betterment — six oregon 7 months full since the onslaught — earlier helium would “be truly himself.”

Throughout the film, directed by their girl Alexandra Pelosi, Ms. Pelosi, a apical House Democrat, does concern connected the telephone with Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Chuck Schumer oregon Joseph R. Biden Jr., who was past a statesmanlike candidate, portion Mr. Pelosi, 82, a multimillionaire businessman who founded a task superior concern firm, is often successful the aforesaid country dealing with the day-to-day necessities of their lives.

A U.S. Capitol Police information reappraisal besides recovered that, portion the agency’s information cameras captured the break-in that led to the vicious battle connected Ms. Pelosi’s husband, Paul, costly minutes went by earlier an serviceman reviewed the footage. And the San Francisco constabulary had stopped posting a car successful beforehand of the Pelosi household 24 hours a day, arsenic they had been doing aft the Jan. 6, 2021, onslaught connected the Capitol.

In effect to the information failures, instrumentality enforcement officials connected Capitol Hill said they planned to fortify protections for members of Congress, emphasizing that an out-of-control menace situation was endangering not lone lawmakers, but their families arsenic well. It was not instantly wide connected Friday what information improvements had been enactment successful spot since the attack, and a spokesperson for the Capitol Police declined to sermon immoderate caller protocols.

Before the attack, the Capitol Police unit had been struggling to set to the ample fig of threats amid terrible strains connected the department.

Last year, the unit tracked 7,501 threats against members of Congress, a alteration from 9,625 successful 2021, but acold higher than the 902 threats investigated successful 2016.

“The threats against members of Congress are inactive excessively high,” the Capitol Police chief, Tom Manger, said successful a statement past week. “This has resulted successful a indispensable enlargement of not lone our investigative capabilities, but our extortion responsibilities arsenic well. While that enactment is ongoing, everyone continuing to alteration convulsive governmental rhetoric crossed the state is the champion mode to support everyone safe.”

Even earlier Mr. Pelosi was attacked, information concerns had grown truthful pressing that galore members of Congress were dipping into their ain authoritative oregon run accounts to support themselves. An investigation of run concern and legislature information published by The Times connected Oct. 1, 2022, showed that members had spent much than $6 cardinal connected information since Jan. 1, 2021.

Ms. Pelosi’s spending connected idiosyncratic information had been comparatively modest: immoderate $34,000 from January 2021 to September 2022. More than 20 different House members spent more, with Representative Cori Bush, Democrat of Missouri, successful the apical spot with astir $400,000 successful the aforesaid clip period.

There is 1 country wherever information connected Capitol Hill has lessened: The metallic detectors on each entranceway to the House level were removed aft Republicans took power of the enclosure this month.

Holly Secon contributed reporting.

Around 3:13 a.m., the archetypal medic responding to the country reported that determination was “one successful custody” and called a “Code 2,” indicating a non-life-threatening aesculapian emergency. It is imaginable that this was successful notation to the suspect, David DePape, whose enarthrosis was dislocated enarthrosis during his arrest.

Three minutes later, the 2nd medic to respond called successful with an update that they were astatine the hospital.

Mr. DePape, the fishy successful the brutal onslaught connected Nancy Pelosi’s husband, had an obsession with video games arsenic a boy, and astatine immoderate constituent successful his big beingness it appeared to metastasize into thing darker. According to his blog posts, the online harassment run known arsenic Gamergate, which began successful 2014 arsenic a backlash against pistillate critics of the gaming manufacture and included misogynistic attacks and decease threats, became a catalyst of his increasing involvement successful right-wing conspiracy theories and the galore rants against women that helium posted connected his blog.

“How did I get into each this,” helium wrote successful 1 passage. “Gamer Gate it was gamer gate.” He described Gamergate arsenic a “consumer led revolt against communism,” and railed against “wokism” and feminism — complaints that appeared to beryllium precursors to his aboriginal clasp of the astir virulent and bigoted of online conspiracy theories.

Prosecutors, who person been scouring Mr. DePape’s copious online writings, accidental the onslaught was politically motivated, and that Mr. DePape intended to clasp Ms. Pelosi, who was past House speaker, arsenic a hostage and interrogate her. The attack, which occurred little than 2 weeks earlier the midterm elections, reverberated crossed the nation’s governmental landscape, heightening fears of governmental unit successful an property of misinformation and conspiracy theories.

Since then, members of Congress from some parties experienced a surge successful threats and confrontations, including stalking, equipped visits to their homes and assaults.

The Capitol Police said that peculiar agents from its tract bureau successful California “quickly arrived connected scene” aft the onslaught connected Mr. Pelosi, successful the aboriginal hours of Oct. 28, 2022. Investigators were dispatched arsenic good from the Capitol Police’s menace appraisal conception connected the East Coast, to assistance the F.B.I. and the San Francisco constabulary successful investigating the break-in and assault, the Capitol Police said.

The vicinity is 1 of the astir affluent successful a metropolis suffused with Silicon Valley wealth. Many residents were paying a backstage service, Pacific Heights Security, to support their homes astatine night, supplementing the metropolis police.

A fewer houses connected the thoroughfare had Halloween decorations out, and respective families with children successful costumes passed by the country arsenic they walked to adjacent schools. Many neighbors stopped to look, instrumentality pictures oregon sermon the news.

Pantea Grover, 40, was leaving her location crossed the thoroughfare from the Pelosi residence astatine astir 8 a.m. connected her mode to a gym. She said she was rattled by the attack.

“We cognize Paul, we deliberation he’s an implicit large guy,” Ms. Grover said. “This is conscionable truthful bittersweet and frustrating astatine this point.”

He met Ms. Pelosi astatine Georgetown University successful Washington, and they married successful 1963. They person 5 children, and person owned a three-floor townhouse successful the Pacific Heights vicinity of San Francisco since 1987.

Mr. Pelosi’s lucrative trades drew attention past twelvemonth arsenic efforts to ban banal trading by members of Congress gained momentum. Investors posting connected TikTok and different platforms reviewed Ms. Pelosi’s banal disclosures and mimicked his investments. He was besides an investor successful the U.F.L., a minor-league shot league.

In August 2022, he pleaded blameworthy to a azygous count of driving nether the power of intoxicant successful transportation with a car mishap successful Napa County, Calif., wherever the Pelosis ain a vineyard. He was sentenced to 5 days successful jail, though helium did not person to service that time, arsenic good arsenic 8 hours of assemblage service.

Mr. Pelosi was calved successful San Francisco, the youngest of 3 boys. His begetter was a wholesale druggist, according to The San Francisco Examiner. When Mr. Pelosi was 16, a car that helium was driving flipped on a choky curve extracurricular of San Francisco, and his member David died successful the crash.

In an interrogation with The Washington Post successful 2009 astir his $12 cardinal concern successful the U.F.L., Mr. Pelosi joked that Georgetown University, wherever helium erstwhile served arsenic president of the committee of the Walsh School of Foreign Service, was the lone spot wherever helium was not known arsenic “Mr. Nancy.”

He said that radical wondered, “‘Who is this feline she’s joined to for 47 years and has 5 kids?’ I recognize the curiosity astir that. But it’s her celebrity. It’s her career. It’s her responsibility. I’m enormously supportive and arrogant astir it, but I spot perfectly nary percent successful trying to stock the limelight.”

The vicinity is 1 of the astir affluent successful a metropolis suffused with Silicon Valley wealth. Many residents wage a backstage service, Pacific Heights Security, to support their homes astatine night, supplementing the metropolis police.

A fewer houses connected the thoroughfare person Halloween decorations out, and respective families with children successful costumes passed by the country connected Friday arsenic they walked to adjacent schools. Many neighbors stopped to look, instrumentality pictures oregon sermon the news.

Pantea Grover, 40, was leaving her location crossed the thoroughfare from the Pelosi residence astatine astir 8 a.m. connected her mode to a gym. She said she was rattled by the attack.

“We cognize Paul, we deliberation he’s an implicit large guy,” Ms. Grover said. “This is conscionable truthful bittersweet and frustrating astatine this point.”