The assailant who attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in the couple’s San Francisco home early Friday was hunting for the powerful Democratic pol.
David Depape, 42, shouted, “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” before assaulting 82-year-old Paul Pelosi with a hammer, CNN and the Associated Press reported, citing sources connected with the investigation.
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott told reporters police were called to the home to check on Paul Pelosi at about 2:30 a.m. local time when they discovered the 82-year-old and Depape struggling for the hammer. The intruder yanked the object away from Pelosi and began beating him before being subdued and arrested by officers, Scott added.
Both Paul Pelosi and his assailant were taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where the House speaker’s husband underwent surgery on his skull. A spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi said her husband was expected to recover.
Depape was due to be charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and “several other additional felonies,” Chief Scott said.
Nancy Pelosi, also 82, was in Washington with her protective detail at the time of the attack, US Capitol Police confirmed in a statement. The agency is assisting the San Francisco police with the investigation, as is the FBI.
Pelosi was on her way back to San Francisco Friday afternoon, canceling her scheduled Saturday night appearance alongside Vice President Kamala Harris at a fundraising event for the pro-LGBTQ group Human Rights Campaign.
A neighbor told local news station KRON she suspected the attack was planned: “It’s terrible, it’s very scary. I saw someone suspicious the other morning out here and I told police, so I’ll be interested to see a picture of [the man arrested]”
The attack took place 11 days before the midterm elections, when Democrats are expected to lose control of the House of Representatives, in part due to the issue of rising crime in US cities like San Francisco.
Bipartisan condemnation of the attack rolled from lawmakers Friday, including from House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) who narrowly escaped a 2017 assassination attempt targeting GOP lawmakers practicing for the Congressional Baseball Game.
“Disgusted to hear about the horrific assault on Speaker Pelosi’s husband Paul. Grateful for law enforcement’s actions to respond,” Scalise tweeted. “Let’s be clear: Violence has no place in this country. I’m praying for Paul Pelosi’s full recovery.”
“What happened to Paul Pelosi was a dastardly act,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “I spoke with Speaker Pelosi earlier this morning and conveyed my deepest concern and heartfelt wishes to her husband and their family, and I wish him a speedy recovery.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Twitter: “Horrified and disgusted by the reports that Paul Pelosi was assaulted in his and Speaker Pelosi’s home last night. Grateful to hear that Paul is on track to make a full recovery and that law enforcement including our stellar Capitol Police are on the case.”
Friday was not the first time Pelosi’s home has been targeted.
On New Year’s Day 2021, left-wing activists defaced the speaker’s garage door with spray-painted messages including “Cancel Rent?” and “We want everything!”
Police also said at the time that the demonstrators had left a pig’s head on the sidewalk outside.
The home in San Francisco’s tony Pacific Heights neighborhood has also seen more peaceful protests. In 2020, after Nancy Pelosi was seen on video getting her hair done at a salon while many were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, stylists protested outside with curling irons.
Earlier this year, members of the city’s Chinese community protested outside the home before Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in defiance of threats from Beijing.
With Post wires
