Right-Wing Paul Pelosi Conspiracy Theories Blasted After Video Released

San Francisco Police on Friday afternoon released body camera footage depicting an assailant attacking former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi with a hammer, offering clarity to what really took place in the events leading up to his hospitalization last October.

In the video, police can be seen responding to a call at the Pelosi home where suspect David DePape appears in the doorway holding a hammer in one hand and Pelosi by the arm in another. Police then ask DePape to drop the hammer, after which DePape—who originally entered the house asking, "Where's Nancy?"—can be seen rearing the weapon and striking Pelosi, 82, on the head.

The main function of the video, however, was not to show the lurid details of what transpired. It was to contradict an unsubstantiated narrative that Pelosi was not the subject of a random assault by a disgruntled constituent, but rather was targeted by someone with whom he had a prior relationship with, a conspiracy theory that had been amplified by figures like Twitter CEO Elon Musk in the days after the attack.