Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was hospitalised on Friday with a skull fracture after being hit with a hammer at the couple’s California home by an attacker who reportedly yelled, “Where is Nancy? How is Nancy doing?
According to Drew Hammill, Nancy Pelosi’s longtime spokesman, Paul Pelosi, 82, underwent “successful surgery” to treat a skull fracture and other “severe injuries” received during the assault. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Paul Pelosi could phone 911, according to San Francisco police, but he did not immediately report what was happening. Instead, the dispatcher dispatched cops to follow up with a “wellness check” at around 2.27 am local time on Friday. They discovered Paul Pelosi being accosted by an adult male, and both men were holding hammers.
“The suspect aggressively hit Pelosi with the hammer after taking it away from him. The suspect was quickly tackled by our officers, who also disarmed him before taking him into custody, according to Bill Scott, chief of the San Francisco police department.
David DePape, 42, was identified as the suspect by Scott, who claimed he entered through a back door. At the county jail in San Francisco, accusations of attempted murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, elder abuse, burglary, and other offences will be made. DePape was still being treated at the hospital on Friday night, but the chief wouldn’t say how he was doing.
The motivation is still under investigation, Scott added, but he insisted that “this was not a random act.” CNN said that the suspect had posted right-wing and conspiracy theories online, including material that promoted the myth that voting fraud prevented Donald Trump from winning the 2020 election, and that he intended to tie the victim up “when Nancy got home.”
An associate of DePape told CNN that he seemed to be “out of touch with reality.” DePape, who grew up in British Columbia, Canada, was said to be separated from his family by two of the suspect’s relatives, according to the network.
DePape is thought to have maintained a blog where he frequently posted rants about the “ruling elite” in addition to numerous conspiracy posts on his Facebook account, which was examined by CNN and subsequently deleted by Meta on Friday. The blog, which was reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle and then removed, had a banner that read “Welcome to Big Brothers Censorship Hell,” as well as a lot of postings full of conspiracies about the government, media, and internet firms.
President Joe Biden referred to the assault on Paul Pelosi as “despicable” and criticised those who promote untruths about rigged elections for poisoning the political atmosphere and fueling violent crime.
Biden told supporters at a Democratic party fundraiser on Friday in Philadelphia, “Enough is enough is enough.” “Regardless of your ideology, every individual with a clear conscience must speak out against the violence in our political system.
In a passionate address last month in Philadelphia, Biden warned about the perils of extremism. “Democracy is really, not symbolically, on the ballot this year,” he declared.
According to sources, Nancy Pelosi was the target of the attack on Paul Pelosi. The president remarked that the alleged attacker used the same shout, “Where’s Nancy?” that supporters of previous president Donald Trump did when they invaded the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Biden stated it was not surprising that “those who may not be that well-balanced” could be impacted by one party’s repeated fabrications of stolen elections.
The Pelosi family home was particularly the target of the attacker, according to the Associated Press. Glass was broken in a side entry of the home, which was seen in video footage, suggesting that a break-in may have taken place there.
According to a source briefed on the incident, the intruder accosted Paul Pelosi and demanded to know where his wife was. The speaker, who is next in line to become president, was not at home during the incident; instead, she was in Washington, DC, where she often travels with security protection.
In the assault, her spouse sustained blunt force injuries to the head and torso. He was sent to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital for treatment of injuries to his right arm, hands, and severe swelling and bruises. Nancy Pelosi allegedly arrived at the hospital on Friday afternoon after moving back to San Francisco to be with her husband.
On Friday morning, it was unclear what exactly prompted the attack, but it caused people to worry for the safety of Congressmen and their families.
There have been growing worries about a new era of violent threats against US congressmen and their families and staff, especially since the uprising by hardline fans of Donald Trump determined to reverse his loss to Joe Biden. Nancy Pelosi and other authorities took cover from the violence during the incident in newly leaked video, during which she assumed control. During the uprising, one man who had grabbed the podium for the speaker received a prison sentence.
Congressional representative received $10,000 each in July to increase security at their residences in the light of growing threats. Some have argued for even greater protection, citing an increase in threatening texts and persons showing up at their houses.
The investigation into Friday’s incident is being carried out by the FBI, US Capitol police, and USCP along with local San Francisco police.
A group of threat assessment investigators from the east coast was also sent to assist the FBI and the San Francisco police department with a joint investigation. At an LGBTQ+ advocacy event on Saturday night, the vice president, Kamala Harris, and Nancy Pelosi were slated to give the keynote message. Pelosi, though, cancelled her appearance.This week, she had just arrived in Washington after attending a security conference in Europe. The vice president referred to the incident as a “act of enormous violence” and said that “anyone who professes to be a leader has to fully comprehend the meaning and the effect of their statements.” The incident occurred in Philadelphia on Friday night.
Besides threats against members of Congress, threats against state and local officials have increased.
Because Katie Hobbs is vying for governor of Arizona in the upcoming midterm elections, burglars broke into her campaign office this week. The secretary of state for the state is Hobbs. Suspect Daniel Mota Dos Reis is charged with third-degree burglary. Typically, living on the west coast, Paul Pelosi frequently joins Pelosi at formal events in Washington.