Paul Pelosi underwent surgery for a skull fracture and severe injuries to his right arm and hands after being attacked with a hammer by an intruder in his home.
The violent assault on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was described as “despicable” by Joe Biden, while San Francisco’s police chief said it was “not a random attack.”
Paul Pelosi, 82, is recovering from a skull fracture after being attacked with a hammer by an intruder on Friday.
The intruder, David DePape, reportedly broke into the couple’s San Francisco home around 2.30 a.m., looking for the US House Speaker.
Officers were called to the house for a “wellbeing check” and found both men holding the hammer.
Before being tackled by police officers, the suspect pulled the hammer away from Mr Pelosi and used it to “violently assault” him.
Paul Pelosi underwent surgery for a skull fracture and severe injuries to his right arm and hands after being attacked with a hammer by an intruder in his home.
Why you can trust Sky News, according to San Francisco Police Chief William Scott.
At one point, the suspect shouted for the Democratic leader, “What happened to Nancy? What happened to Nancy?”
QAnon-related posts
According to preliminary investigations, the suspect appears to have made racist and frequently rambling online posts, some of which echoed QAnon conspiracy theories.
His posts also questioned the 2020 election results and defended former President Donald Trump.
The 42-year-old grew up in Powell River, British Columbia, before moving away about 20 years ago to pursue his dreams.
He was arrested at the Pelosi home early on Friday.
‘Despicable’
The US president sharply condemned the attack on Mr Pelosi and drew parallels between the attack on the House speaker’s husband and the US Capitol riots.
Speaking at an event in Philadelphia on Friday evening, he said he had earlier spoken to Mrs Pelosi and she reported that her husband was in “good spirits”.
He went on to address reports that the assailant had repeated the “same chant” heard during the 6 January 2021 riots.
“The chant was: ‘Where’s Nancy?'” Mr Biden said, calling it “despicable.”
“There’s too much violence, political violence,” the president added, suggesting that election denialism and claims that COVID-19 was a “hoax” had eroded the political climate.
“Every person of good conscience needs to clearly and unambiguously stand up against the violence in our politics, regardless of what your politics are,” he said.
‘This is not a random act.’
Meanwhile, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott told a news conference that Mr Pelosi’s attack at their San Francisco home was “intentional.”
He stated: “This was not an accident. This was done on purpose. And it’s incorrect.”
Mr Scott declined to elaborate on a possible motive for the assault and stated that the investigation was ongoing.
According to a spokesperson, Mr. Pelosi was rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery for a skull fracture as well as severe injuries to his right arm and hands.
He is expected to recover completely.
DePape was charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary, and a number of other felonies.
His motive has not yet been made clear.
Mrs Pelosi’s spokesperson, Drew Hammill, said her husband had been attacked “by an assailant who acted with force, and threatened his life while demanding to see the Speaker”.
‘Heinous act’
Mrs. Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the country’s second-in-line to the presidency, was in Washington DC at the time, having just returned from a security summit in Europe.
Her security detail would have been present if she had been at home, but Mr Pelosi is not eligible for this protection on his own.
“What happened to Paul Pelosi was a dastardly act,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
“Earlier this morning, I spoke with Speaker Pelosi and expressed my deepest concern and heartfelt wishes to her husband and their family, and I wish him a speedy recovery.”
It comes almost two years after the Capitol insurgency in January 2021, when Mrs Pelosi’s office was ransacked, when there is growing concern about the safety of America’s politicians.
Last year, Capitol Police investigated nearly 9,600 threats made against members of both parties in Congress, a nearly threefold increase from 2017.