San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy has just released the police body camera video of Paul Pelosi’s alleged attack, making it available to the public.
As Slay News reported earlier this week, the judge ordered that the video footage be made public after a lawsuit demanded that it be released.
Several news outlets sued to have the records made public, including The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Press Democrat, CNN, Fox News, NBC, ABC, CBS, and KQED San Francisco.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office tried to argue that releasing the video would distort the facts of the case.
Meanwhile, lawyers for Pelosi’s alleged attacker David DePape argued that releasing the video could “irreparably harm” his right to a fair trial.
If he is convicted, DePape could face up to 30 years in prison for the assault and 20 years for attempted kidnapping.
He also faces state charges.
Now the video has been released so the public can decide for themselves.
WATCH:
🚨BREAKING: The Paul Pelosi bodycam video has been released.
Here is the full video. pic.twitter.com/Z254Q8NGIM
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 27, 2023
DePape also faces a series of state charges, including attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder, and threats to a public official and their family, according to NBC.
He has pleaded not guilty to all state charges.
Graphic warning.
The footage of police responding to Paul and Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco mansion has been released. It shows the suspect holding on to Paul, who is holding a drink, before the suspect strikes Paul with a hammer. H/T @greg_price11 pic.twitter.com/Yet7BdbKtb— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) January 27, 2023
The Paul Pelosi assault video is out and it’s one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen. It’s absolutely bizarre. 😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/AuQPvs98IL
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 27, 2023
According to the AP:
When news organizations asked for copies of that evidence, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office refused to release it.
The attack, which occurred just days before the 2022 midterm elections, prompted intense speculation from the public that fueled the spread of false information.
The district attorney’s office argued releasing the footage publicly would only allow people to manipulate it in their quest to spread false information.
But the news agencies argued it was vital for prosecutors to publicly share their evidence that could debunk any false information swirling on the internet about the attack.
“You don’t eliminate the public right of access just because of concerns about conspiracy theories,” Burke said.
