Biden says it appears attack on Paul Pelosi intended for House Speaker
A man accused of clubbing the husband of the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, over the head with a hammer and threatening his life while demanding “Where is Nancy?” now faces charges of attempted murder and other felonies a day after the violent break-in at the couple’s San Francisco home.
Paul Pelosi, 82, underwent surgery for a skull fracture and injuries to his right arm and hands, though doctors expect a full recovery. The 82-year-old House speaker herself was in Washington with her protective detail at the time of the assault, but she flew back to San Francisco on Friday afternoon and went to the hospital.
On Saturday afternoon, Nancy Pelosi issued a statement: “Yesterday morning, a violent man broke into our family home, demanded to confront me and brutally attacked my husband Paul. Our children, our grandchildren and I are heartbroken and traumatized by the life-threatening attack on our Pop.
“We are grateful for the quick response of law enforcement and emergency services, and for the life-saving medical care he is receiving. Please know that the outpouring of prayers and warm wishes from so many in the Congress is a comfort to our family and is helping Paul make progress with his recovery. His condition continues to improve.”
Joe Biden on Saturday afternoon said Paul Pelosi was “doing better” after his surgery. The US president told reporters it looked like the attack had been intended for Nancy Pelosi and he urged all politicians to contemn political violence.
The assault stoked fears about political violence less than two weeks ahead of midterm elections on 8 November that will decide control of the House of Representatives and US Senate, coming amid the most vitriolic and polarized US political climate in decades.
Police identified the man arrested at the scene by officers who intervened in the attack as David DePape, 42. He, too, was hospitalized with minor injuries, although police have spoken to him and he is expected to be formally charged by the San Francisco district attorney on Monday.
He was booked into custody on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, battery, burglary and several other felonies.
The San Francisco police chief, William Scott, told a Friday night news briefing that police detectives, assisted by FBI agents, had yet to determine exactly what precipitated the home invasion but said: “We know this was not a random act.”
Scott said the intruder, wielding a hammer, forced his way into the Pelosis’ townhouse in the city’s Pacific Heights neighborhood through a rear door shortly before 2.30am on Friday morning.
Police were dispatched after a cryptic emergency 911 call from the residence. CNN reported that Paul Pelosi managed to call 911 and used coded language as he spoke to the dispatcher.
Scott credited the 911 operator with using her experience and intuition to “figure out that there was more to this incident than what she was being told” by the caller, so she dispatched police urgently. Scott called her decision “lifesaving”.
He recounted that police arriving at the scene caught a glimpse through the front door of DePape and Pelosi struggling over a hammer. As the officers yelled at both men to drop the tool, DePape yanked the hammer away and was seen striking Pelosi at least once, the chief said.
The officers then arrested Depape. Scott condemned violence against politicians and their loved ones saying they “did not sign up for this” and called the attack on Pelosi “intentional and wrong”.
“Everybody should be disgusted,” he said.
In recent online posts, an internet user named “daviddepape” expressed support for the former US president Donald Trump and embraced the cultlike conspiracy theory QAnon.
The posts included references to “satanic pedophilia”, antisemitic tropes and criticism of women, transgender people and censorship by tech companies.
He also railed against the prosecution of white former police officer Derek Chauvin, CNN reported, for the racist murder of George Floyd in 2020, a crime that sparked a racial reckoning and a reflowering of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Older messages promoted quartz crystals and hemp bracelets. Reuters could not confirm that the posts were created by the man arrested on Friday.
Friday’s incident came a day after New York City police warned that extremists could target politicians, political events and polling sites ahead of the midterm elections, and threats have risen sharply.
The US Capitol police said they investigated 9,625 threats against lawmakers from both parties in 2021, nearly a threefold increase from 2017, amid security concerns.
Pelosi’s office was invaded and ransacked during the 6 January 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol by extremist supporters of Trump, who had been incited by the-then Republican president, as they attacked law enforcement and sought to overturn Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election. Some of those who invaded the building hunted for the speaker, calling out her name.
She had escaped with other lawmakers and then from a place of hiding led efforts to get the halls and chambers of the Capitol re-secured and back in action so that Congress could certify Joe Biden’s presidential election victory, which it did in the early hours of 7 January.
In January 2021, the Pelosis’ home was vandalized with graffiti saying “Cancel rent” and “We want everything” painted on the house and a pig’s head left in front of the garage, media reported.
The home of the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, was also vandalized.
McConnell contributed to bipartisan condemnation, saying he was “horrified and disgusted” by Friday’s violence.
Trump’s vice-president, Mike Pence, whom insurrectionists threatened to hang on January 6, a notion reportedly endorsed by Trump, because he was willing to follow protocol and certify Biden’s victory, tweeted on Friday. He condemned the attack on Paul Pelosi as an outrage and said “there can be no tolerance for violence against public officials or their families.”
Speaking at a campaign event in Pennsylvania on Friday evening, Biden told the crowd: “Enough is enough.
“Every person of good conscience needs to clearly and unambiguously stand up against violence in our politics, regardless of what your politics are,” the US president said.
Vice-President Kamala Harris was once the district attorney for San Francisco. On Saturday, she told an election campaign event in Baltimore that “there’s some scary stuff happening.”
She said in place of vigorous but fair debate, “powerful people, so-called leaders, have been using the bully pulpit … to divide our country, in a way that is propagating hate,” adding that people needed to make their voices heard to articulate that “we won’t stand for that.”