Paul Pelosi bodycam footage shows moment intruder hits 82-year-old with hammer

Graphic police bodycam footage showing a brutal hammer attack on Paul Pelosi has been released by a court in California.

The video footage and a 911 call made by Mr Pelosi during the home invasion on 28 October was authorised for release by the San Francisco Superior Court after a submission by several media outlets.

Mr Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was asleep at the couple’s San Francisco home when an intruder broke in and violently assaulted him on.

Prosecutors have charged 42-year-old David DePape in connection with the attack.

The footage shows two San Francisco police officers arriving at the address to find Mr Pelosi, dressed in a shirt and underwear, and an intruder, identified by authorities as Mr DePape, wrestling with a hammer.

On Wednesday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy denied a request by prosecutors to keep the footage secret.

The attack on the eve of the November midterm elections sparked lurid conspiracy theories, and came after warnings of a “heightened threat” from domestic extremists.

Right-wing commentators fuelled false speculation that the attack was staged to cover up a an affair between Mr Pelosi and the intruder.

These claims were contradicted by Mr Depape’s statement to police, in which he described wanting searching for Ms Pelosi, who was in Washington DC at the time, and wanting to break her kneecaps if she failed to answer his questions.

A review of Mr Depape’s blog posts by The Independent showed he was immersed in QAnon conspiracy theories and had a history of spouting hatred towards politicians and public figures.