‘Where Is Nancy? Where Is Nancy?’ Attacker Shouts as He Assaults Paul Pelosi With a Hammer

Updated at 3 P.M. E.D.T.SAN FRANCISCO — An intruder attacked and severely beat Speaker Pelosi’s husband with a hammer in the couple’s San Francisco home early Friday while searching for the Democratic leader and shouting: “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”Police were called to the home to check on Paul Pelosi at about 2:30 a.m. when they discovered the 82-year-old and the suspect, 42-year-old David Depape, both grabbing onto the hammer, said Police Chief William Scott. The intruder yanked it from Mr. Pelosi and began beating him before being subdued and arrested by officers.The speaker was in Washington, where she had been scheduled to appear with Vice President Harris at a fundraising event Saturday night for the LGBTQ group Human Rights Campaign, 11 days before congressional elections that have been filled with harsh, sometimes violent rhetoric. Ms. Pelosi canceled her appearance.The intruder’s shouts in the Pelosis’ California home were an unsettling echo of the chants during the January 6, 2021 attack at the Capitol, when rioters trying to stop President Biden’s election searched menacingly through the halls for the speaker. Police said a motive for Friday’s intrusion was still being determined, but three people with knowledge of the investigation told the Associated Press that Mr. Depape targeted Ms. Pelosi’s home. Those people were not authorized to talk publicly about an ongoing probe and spoke on condition of anonymity.Police gave few details on the suspect or his motives. Yet the attack raised questions about the safety of members of Congress and their families. Threats to lawmakers are at an all-time high almost two years after the Capitol riot. In the current midterm election campaigns, crime and public safety have emerged as top concerns among Americans.Mr. Pelosi was severely beaten, suffering blunt force trauma after he was struck several times in the head. He was admitted to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital for his injuries, the hospital confirmed. His condition was not immediately available, but Ms. Pelosi’s spokesman has said he would recover.Often at Ms. Pelosi’s side during formal events in Washington, Mr. Pelosi is a wealthy investor who largely remains on the West Coast. The couple have five adult children and many grandchildren. The two have been married 59 years.Earlier this year, Mr. Pelosi pleaded guilty to misdemeanor driving under the influence charges related to a May crash in California’s wine country and was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation.Lawmakers from both parties reacted to the assault with shock and expressed their well wishes to the Pelosi family.The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said that President Biden has been in contact with Ms. Pelosi.“The President is praying for Paul Pelosi and for Speaker Pelosi’s whole family,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. “This morning he called Speaker Pelosi to express his support after this horrible attack. He is also very glad that a full recovery is expected. The president continues to condemn all violence, and asks that the family’s desire for privacy be respected.”After January 6, members of Congress have received additional dollars for security at their homes, but some have pushed for more protection as people have showed up at their homes and as members have received an increasing amount of threatening communications.The attack on the husband of the House speaker — who is second in the line of succession to the Presidency — follows a number of threatened, or actual, assaults against politicians and judges in recent months.In June, a man was arrested outside the Maryland home of a Supreme Court justice, Brett Kavanaugh. Federal authorities said the man, who said he had traveled from California to kill the justice, was armed with a pistol, knife, and other weapons.Justice Samuel Alito this week observed that the leak earlier this year of his draft opinion striking down Roe v. Wade had put him and his fellow justices at risk of assassination.In July, the Republican candidate for governor of New York, Representative Lee Zeldin, was attacked during a stump speech by a man wielding a sharp object. The Congressman was uninjured. The assailant was arrested after the assault, but was almost immediately released from police custody due to New York’s bail reform laws, which limit the ability of judges to order defendants be held before trial.That month, a man was arrested outside the Seattle home of Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat. The liberal Congresswoman had called 911 to report “a person outside her residence was yelling obscenities and may have fired a pellet gun,” the Washington Post reported.

‘Where Is Nancy? Where Is Nancy?’ Attacker Shouts as He Assaults Paul Pelosi With a Hammer

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