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The Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa hosted a conference and after party for members of the California Federation of Republican Women in 2017. A woman who worked for the organization alleged that Pete Hegseth, the keynote speaker, sexually assaulted her. (Google Maps /Screenshot by NPR)
This story originally appeared on NPR.
The woman who accused then-Fox News host Pete Hegseth of sexual assault in 2017 said that while she did not have a complete recollection of the night in question, she “remembered saying ‘no’ a lot” and alleged that he prevented her from leaving his hotel room, according to a police report from the Monterey, Calif., police department.
The report, which was released to NPR and other outlets after a public records request, provides additional details about the incident involving the woman and Hegseth, who was named last week as President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of Defense.
On Thursday, Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman said in statement: “This report corroborates what Mr. Hegseth’s attorneys have said all along: the incident was fully investigated, and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false. Pete Hegseth is a highly-respected Combat Veteran who will honorably serve our country when he is confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense, just like he honorably served our country on the battlefield in uniform.”
The allegation against Hegseth came into public view just days after President-elect Donald Trump announced him as his nominee for Secretary of Defense, adding to scrutiny of the longtime TV personality’s qualifications to lead the Department of Defense.
Hegseth, 44, stopped working at Fox News last week after his nomination was announced. His attorney, Timothy Parlatore, said that while Hegseth denies the allegations by his accuser, he settled with her several years ago, to prevent her from filing a lawsuit that could damage his television career.
“This police report confirms what I have said all along,” Parlatore told NPR via email, “that the incident was fully investigated and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed.”
Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni said in a statement to NPR that her office declined to pursue the case in early 2018, after determining that “No charges were supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
In text messages Doe shared with police, she mentioned meeting Hegseth at the conference, including a message saying, “our ladies are freaking drooling over him.”
Some of Doe’s texts were in conversations with her husband. Some of them indicated that she was not impressed with Hegseth, noting, “He wears a ring on his pointer finger. It creeps me out.”
Later in the evening, Doe told investigators, she saw Hegseth “acting inappropriately,” rubbing women’s legs, and “giving off a ‘creeper’ vibe,” according to the report.
In her statements to police, Doe described how memories of that night came back to her. Of the visit to Knuckles bar, she said, “that’s when things got fuzzy.”
She told police that she recalled arguing with Hegseth near the pool, saying it was about how he was treating women at the conference. Doe remembered Hegseth telling her “that he was a nice guy,” according to the report.
“[Doe] stated the next memory she had was when she was in an unknown room,” according to the police report. “[Doe] did not know where she was and how she got to the room. [Hegseth] was in the room with her.”
The report states that the woman said Hegseth asked who she was texting with and took her phone. Doe told police that she then tried to leave the room, but Hegseth blocked the door.
“[Doe] remembered saying “no” a lot. [Doe] stated she did not remember much else. [Doe’s] next memory was when she was on a bed or a couch and [Hegseth] was over her. [Hegseth’s] dog tags were hovering over her face.”
Hegseth told police that he delivered the keynote speech at the conference. Later, he said, he went upstairs to the after-party where he drank beer. He said that he and others then went to the hotel bar. Police say that the hotel’s surveillance footage shows him, Doe and another woman walking to the bar, in a video time-stamped close to midnight.
Hegseth said that no one at the bar was “blacked out drunk,” and that while he was “buzzed,” he wasn’t intoxicated, according to the report.
Hegseth told police he didn’t remember having an argument at the pool. He said he was confused that Doe went back to his hotel room with him, because they had not talked as much as he did with others. Hegseth maintained that any physical interaction between them was consensual. Afterward, he said, Doe told him she would tell her husband that she had fallen asleep on a couch in someone else’s room.
Before Doe left his room, Hegseth said, he told her he would stay quiet about what had happened — but he added that she “showed early signs of regret.” He did not specify what those signs were.
Police were alerted when a Kaiser Permanente nurse called them on Oct. 12, 2017, reporting that a woman had come in requesting a sexual assault exam. The patient wanted to remain anonymous — known as Jane Doe — and she initially did not tell police Hegseth’s name either, according to the report.