Home » News » News outlets seek access to evidence in Paul Pelosi attack

By The Associated Press, published on January 13, 2023

Select Dynamic field

David DePape, right, records the nude wedding of Gypsy Taub outside City Hall on Dec. 19, 2013, in San Francisco. DePape is known in Berkeley, Calif., as a pro-nudity activist who had picketed naked at protests against local ordinances requiring people to be clothed in public. AP Photo/Eric Risberg

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press

 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A coalition of news organizations, including The Associated Press, filed a court motion in San Francisco seeking access to evidence against the man charged in last year’s attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi.

 

During a Dec. 14 preliminary hearing, the San Francisco district attorney’s office introduced audio and video evidence against David DePape, the man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi. But it has refused to release the evidence to the news media.

 

Attorneys for the coalition said in the motion filed Jan. 11 that “the public and press have standing to assert their rights of access to court records and proceedings.”

 

The coalition includes The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Press Democrat, CNN, Fox News, CBS, ABC, NBC and KQED, an NPR-member radio station in San Francisco.

 

A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

 

Evidence introduced in the preliminary hearing against DePape included audio from a 911 call made by Paul Pelosi, portions of body camera video taken by the two police officers who responded to the Pelosis’ house, portions of video of a police detective interviewing DePape and footage captured by Capitol Police Department surveillance cameras.

 

Prosecutors say DePape broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home on Oct. 28 seeking to kidnap the former speaker — who was out of town — and instead beat her 82-year-old husband with a hammer. The violence sent shockwaves through the political world.

 

DePape pleaded not guilty to state charges, including attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse. He has also pleaded not guilty to federal charges of attempting to kidnap a federal official and assaulting a federal official’s family member.

 

He remains jailed without bail and is set to return to a state court on Feb. 23 to set a date for his trial.

 

The Free Speech Center newsletter offers a digest of First Amendment and news media-related news every other week. Subscribe for free here: https://bit.ly/3kG9uiJ

 

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

More than 1,700 articles on First Amendment topics, court cases and history