Police investigated sex assault allegations against Pete Hegseth in California; here's what they found
FILE-Pete Hegseth, host of "Fox & Friends," at the National Council of Young Israel Gala in New York City. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A woman told authorities that she was sexually assaulted by Pete Hegseth in 2017.
She alleges that Hegseth took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report obtained by the Associated Press.
Hegseth is a Fox News personality and President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be defense secretary.
The 22-page police report was released in response to a public records request and provides a detailed account of what the woman alleged to have occurred.
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Trump picks Pete Hegseth for defense secretary
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated FOX News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary. Hegseth is a co-host on FOX News’ "Fox & Friends Weekend" show and is a former Army veteran. Hegseth and President-elect Trump reportedly became friendly after Trump appeared on the show a few times.
According to the AP, the report cited police interviews with the alleged victim, a nurse who treated her, a hotel staffer, another woman at the event and Hegseth.
Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter with the woman was consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the AP noted, citing the report.
Last week, local officials released a brief statement confirming that a woman accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he spoke at a Republican women’s event in Monterey, California.
Hegseth's lawyer has said he paid the woman in 2023 to head off the threat of a baseless lawsuit. The AP noted that the report does not say that police found the allegations were false. Authorities recommended the case report be submitted to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for review.
What did police find?
Authorities were first notified about the alleged assault by a nurse who called them after a patient requested a sexual assault exam, the AP noted, citing the report.
The patient told medical personnel she believed she was assaulted five days earlier but could not remember much about what had happened.
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She reported something may have been slipped into her drink before ending up in the hotel room where she said the alleged assault took place. Authorities collected an unwashed dress and underwear she had worn that night.
According to the report, the woman’s partner, who was staying at the hotel with her, told authorities that he was worried about her that night after she did not come back to their room.
At 2 a.m., he went to the hotel bar, but she wasn’t there. The report noted that she made it back a few hours later, apologizing that she "must have fallen asleep." A few days later, she told him she had been sexually assaulted.
What did the woman say about the incident?
The woman, who helped organize the California Federation of Republican women gathering at which Hegseth spoke, told authorities that she had witnessed the TV anchor acting inappropriately throughout the night and saw him stroking multiple women’s thighs. She texted a friend that Hegseth was giving off a "creeper" vibe, per the report.
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According to the AP, citing the report, After the event, the woman and others were at an afterparty in a hotel suite where she said she confronted Hegseth, telling him that she "did not appreciate how he treated women."
A group of people, including Hegseth and the woman, left the hotel's bar, and the woman told police that’s when "things got fuzzy."
The report noted that the woman recalled having a drink at the bar with Hegseth and others, the police report states. And she also told authorities that she argued with Hegseth near the hotel pool, an account that is supported by a hotel staffer who was sent to deal with the disturbance and spoke to officers.
After that the woman told police she was in a hotel room with Hegseth, who took her phone and blocked the door with his body so that she could not leave, and she also told police she remembered saying "saying ‘no’ a lot," according to the report.
According to the report, the woman noted that her next memory was laying on a couch or bed with Hegseth hovering over her bare-chested, his dog tags dangling over her.
After Hegseth finished, the woman recalled him asking if she was "OK," the report states. She told authorities she did not remember how she got back to her own hotel room and had since suffered from nightmares and memory loss.
What did Pete Hegseth say about the incident?
Pete Hegseth said he attended an after party and drank beer but did not consume liquor and admitted being "buzzed" but not drunk.
Hegseth said he met the woman at the hotel bar, and she led him by the arm back to his hotel room, which caught him off guard because he initially had no intention of having sex with her, the report noted.
Hegseth told authorities that the sexual encounter that followed was consensual, adding that he asked more than once if she was comfortable. Hegseth said in the morning the woman "showed early signs of regret," and he assured her that he would not tell anyone about the encounter.
Court records obtained by the AP show that at the time of the alleged 2017 incident, Hegseth was going through a divorce with his second wife, with whom he has three children.
She filed for divorce after Hegseth had a child with a Fox News producer who is now his wife, the AP reported, citing court records and social media posts by Hegseth. His first marriage ended in 2009, also after infidelity by Hegseth.