US House Speaker Pelosi’s husband assaulted with hammer at home
USA – A hammer-wielding man attacked US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband during a break-in at the couple’s San Francisco home early on Friday, authorities said, in an assault that raised fears about political violence ahead of the November 8 midterm elections.
Paul Pelosi, 82, was taken to a hospital for treatment and was expected to make a full recovery, Pelosi’s office said. Several media outlets reported he underwent surgery.
The man arrested at the scene, David Depape, 42, will be charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary, and several other felony charges, San Francisco Police Chief
William Scott said.
The Democratic Speaker of the US House of Representatives, who is second in the constitutional line of succession to the US presidency, was in Washington with her protective detail at the time of the assault, according to the US Capitol Police.
ATTACK
Authorities were still investigating a motive for the predawn attack, which was witnessed and interrupted by police officers dispatched to the Pelosi home for an ‘A-priority wellbeing check,’ Scott told reporters.
The intruder shouted, ‘Where is Nancy"’ before attacking her husband, CNN and The Washington Post both reported, citing unnamed sources. CNN said the assailant also told police at the scene that he had been ‘waiting for Nancy.’
Recent posts on several internet sites by a user named ‘daviddepape’ include references to anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, criticism of women, ‘satanic paedophilia,’ censorship by tech companies, and other far-right political themes. Older messages promote quartz crystals and hemp bracelets. Reuters could not confirm that the posts were made by the suspect.
It was unclear how the intruder got into the three-story red brick townhouse in the affluent Pacific Heights neighborhood. Aerial photos showed shattered glass on a door at the rear of the house. Streets around the residence were closed off on Friday morning.