SACRAMENTO, Calif. • Footage of the attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband will be released to the public after a judge Wednesday denied prosecutors’ request to keep it secret.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy ruled there was no reason to keep the footage secret, especially after prosecutors played it in open court during a preliminary hearing last month, according to Thomas Burke, a San Francisco-based lawyer who represented The Associated Press and a host of other news agencies in their attempt to access the evidence.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office handed over the evidence to Murphy on Wednesday following a court hearing. Murphy asked the court clerk’s office to distribute it to the media, which could happen as soon as Thursday.

Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi’s husband, was asleep at the couple’s San Francisco home on Oct. 28 when someone broke in and beat him with a hammer. Prosecutors have charged 42-year-old David DePape in connection with the attack.

During a preliminary hearing last month, prosecutors played portions of Paul Pelosi’s 911 call plus footage from Capitol police surveillance cameras, body cameras worn by the two police officers who arrived at the house, and video from DePape’s interview with police.

But 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.