A man who attacked the husband of the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, with a hammer, shouting “Where is Nancy?”, faces charges of attempted murder and other crimes the day after the violent raid living in the couple’s home in San Francisco. .
Police initially refused to give a reason for Friday’s attack on 82-year-old Paul Pelosi, who his wife’s office says had surgery for a fractured skull and injuries to his right arm and hands, though doctors hope a complete recovery.
The assault has fueled fears of political violence less than two weeks before the November 8 midterm elections that will decide control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in the most virulent and polarized US political climate in decades.
The 82-year-old Speaker of the House herself, a Democrat who is second in the line of constitutional succession to the US presidency, was in Washington with her protective details at the time of the assault.
She flew to San Francisco to be with her husband.
Police identified the man detained at the scene by officers involved in the attack as David Depape, 42. He, too, was taken to a San Francisco hospital.
Online sheriff’s records showed that he had been arrested on charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, beatings, robbery and many other crimes.
Formal charges should have been filed by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said at last night’s news conference that police investigators, assisted by FBI agents, have not yet determined what accelerated the home invasion, but said, “We know this was not a random act,” reports RTE.
A statement from Ms. Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill, said that Mr. Pelosi was assaulted “by an assailant who acted with force, and threatened his life while demanding to see the Speaker,” reported RTE.
The intruder yelled, “Where’s Nancy?” before attacking, according to a person briefed on the incident but who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.
In search of a motive, attention turned to the suspect’s apparent Internet profile.
In recent posts on various websites, an internet user named “daviddepape” expressed his support for former President Donald Trump and espoused the QAnon cult-like conspiracy theory.
The posts included references to “satanic pedophilia,” anti-Semitic tropes, and criticism of women, transgender people, and censorship by tech companies.
Older posts promoted quartz crystals and hemp bracelets. Reuters could not confirm that the posts were created by the man arrested yesterday.
Scott said the intruder entered the three-story, red-brick Pelosis home through a back door. Aerial photos showed broken glass at the back of the home in the affluent Pacific Heights neighborhood.
The chief said police were dispatched for a “A-priority well-being check” around 2:30 a.m. Based on a somewhat cryptic emergency call from the residence. Other media outlets reported that the call was made by Paul Pelosi.
Mr. Scott credited the 911 operator for using his experience and intuition to “figure out that there was more to this incident than what she was being told” by the caller, so he sent the call with a higher priority. than normal. Mr. Scott called his decision “life-saving,” according to RTE.
According to Mr. Scott, police arriving at the scene caught a glimpse through the front door of the two men struggling over a hammer.
As officers yelled at both men to drop the tool, Depape withdrew the hammer and was seen hitting Pelosi at least once, the chief said.
Officers then confronted, disarmed and arrested Mr. Depape and took both of them to the hospital, Scott said.
The incident occurred the day after the New York police warned that extremists could target politicians, political events and polling stations ahead of the midterm elections.
The US Capitol Police said it investigated 9,625 threats against politicians from both sides in 2021, nearly three times as many as in 2017.
As the Democratic leader in Washington and a longtime representative from one of America’s most liberal cities, Nancy Pelosi is a frequent target of Republican criticism.
Her office was ransacked in the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol by supporters of then-Republican President Trump, some of whom searched for her during the raid.
In January 2021, her home was vandalized with graffiti reading “Cancel Rent” and “We want everything” painted on the house and a pig’s head in front of the garage, according to media reports.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s home was also vandalized during that time.
McConnell said he was “appalled and disgusted” by yesterday’s violence and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said he contacted Pelosi.
One of the strongest reactions came from US Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack, who condemned the rise in inflammatory rhetoric that smears political opponents and promotes falsehoods. on electoral fraud.
“When you convince people that politicians are rigging elections, drink babies blood, etc, you will get violence. This must be rejected,” he wrote on Twitter, reports RTE.
Speaking at an election event in Pennsylvania, President Joe 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,” Mr Biden said, reported RTE.
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