House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked and badly battered with a hammer by an attacker who, according to investigators, burst into the couple’s San Francisco home early on Friday while yelling, “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?” and looking for the Democratic leader.
Just 11 days before the midterm elections, the assault on 82-year-old Paul Pelosi added to the already tense political atmosphere in the country. It had unsettling shades of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, when protesters ran amok through the corridors seeking to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s triumph against Donald Trump.
When the attack in California occurred, Speaker Pelosi was in Washington. She landed in San Francisco late on Friday and went right to the hospital where her husband was receiving medical attention. This did not happen at random. This was planned. And it’s incorrect,” stated William Scott, chief of police in San Francisco.
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The police chief appeared to be holding back emotion as he vehemently denounced the violence in politics. He claimed that the emergency 911 dispatcher’s intuition was “lifesaving.” “Our elected officials are here to conduct business on behalf of their respective states, counties, and cities. Their family doesn’t consent to this, said Scott. Everyone ought to be appalled by what occurred this morning.
David DePape, 42, was detained on suspicion of attempted murder, elder abuse, and burglary, according to the police. According to the speaker’s office, Paul Pelosi required surgery to heal a skull fracture as well as severe wounds to his right arm and hands. Doctors predict a full recovery for him.
As soon as possible, Biden called Speaker Pelosi to express his support. Later, he offered a vehement condemnation of the “despicable” attack, calling it unacceptable in the United States. Political violence is prevalent too often. Too much animosity. At a Democratic event in Pennsylvania on Friday night, Biden lamented the “too much hostility.”
“What gives us reason to believe that it won’t poison the political atmosphere? There is enough, enough, enough. Mitch McConnell, the head of the Senate’s Republican party, stated that the attack left him “horrified and sickened.”
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Political language around the country has reached historically high levels of foreboding threats against lawmakers, which is disturbing. The House speaker and other congressional leaders are guarded around the clock, and more and more members of Congress are now under police protection. This is because crime and public safety have turned out to be major election issues.
Police were called to the Pelosi residence in San Francisco on Friday at around 2.30 a.m. to see how Paul Pelosi was doing, according to Scott. He confirmed that the burglar broke through glass-paneled doors to enter the house in the posh Pacific Heights district. According to a person familiar with the incident who was granted anonymity to discuss it, Paul Pelosi himself dialed 911 after telling the intruder he had to use the lavatory where his phone was charging.
According to Scott, the dispatcher realized there was “something more” going on than she had been informed. I believe this saved a life, he said. Police found Paul Pelosi and the suspect DePape arguing inside over a hammer, according to Scott. DePape grabbed Pelosi’s hammer and started pounding him with it before being tackled by police and taken into custody, according to Scott.
The collaborative probe also involves the FBI and Capitol Police. Although three people with knowledge of the inquiry told The Associated Press that DePape targeted Pelosi’s home, police said a motive for Friday’s entry was still being investigated. These individuals talked on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation. He was lodged at the local prison.
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The speaker, who had been out of the country for a week, was due to appear with Vice President Kamala Harris at a fundraiser for the Human Rights Campaign on Saturday night. Pelosi pulled out of the event. “I absolutely believe that each of us has to speak out against hate, we definitely have to speak out against violence, and speak to our better selves,” Harris said on Friday.
Berkeley, a college town in the Bay Area, has a post box at a UPS Store as DePape’s reported address. He was well-known in his community as a pro-nudity activist who picketed in the naked at demonstrations against laws requiring public dress. The suspect’s stepfather, Gene DePape, described him as a calm youngster who resided with him in Canada until he was 14 years old.
Gene DePape described him as secretive and said, “He was never violent.” The stepfather claimed he hadn’t seen DePape since 2003 and had made numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact him over the years. Both partisans of lawmakers reacted with amazement and sent their condolences to the Pelosi family.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, described what happened to Paul Pelosi as “a heinous act.” “Earlier this morning, I called Speaker Pelosi and expressed my sincere sympathies and best wishes to her husband and their family, and I wish him a rapid recovery.”
Kevin McCarthy, the leader of the House Republicans, informally contacted the speaker “to check in on Paul and said he’s praying for a full recovery,” according to spokesman Mark Bednar. However, several Republicans refused to take a break from politics. “There’s no tolerance for violence anywhere,” Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin said of the Pelosis during a campaign event for a congressional candidate. “But we’re going to send her back to live with him in California.”
A total of 9,600 threats against members of Congress were examined by Capitol Police in 2021, and several of them have recently been physically assaulted. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., suffered serious wounds when a shooter opened fire on a Republican congressional baseball team practice in 2017. Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was shot in the head at a gathering outside a grocery store in Tucson in 2011.
Congressmen have received more funding for security at their properties, but others have lobbied for even greater security as people have visited their homes. The second in line to the presidency, Nancy Pelosi, has been savagely mocked in campaign commercials by Republicans and outside organizations this election year. When the attack in California occurred on Friday, she was in Washington with her protective security detail.
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Paul Pelosi is a wealthy investor who frequently stands at her side during official occasions in Washington. He primarily lives on the West Coast. They have five adult children, and numerous grandchildren, and have been married for 59 years. He was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation earlier this year after entering a guilty plea to misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence in connection with a collision in California’s wine region in May.
Several demonstrations have taken place in front of the Pelosi residence in the affluent area in recent years. Stylists demonstrated outside with curling irons after Nancy Pelosi was caught on camera getting her hair done at a salon while many others were closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Chinese community members recently demonstrated before Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Protesters painted “cancel rent,” “we want everything,” and anarchy signs over the garage door in black paint during discussions about the federal stimulus package. A pig’s head was left on the driveway. But on Friday, concern, and support were the most prevalent emotions.
Over the past two decades, we have attended a lot of events with the Pelosis and have had numerous opportunities to discuss both of our families and the difficulties of belonging to a political family. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo, tweeted, “Thinking about the Pelosi family today. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont and the third in line to become president, claimed to have known Paul Pelosi “forever” in the Capitol. It’s really terrible, he said.
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