The husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was severely battered with a hammer by an attacker who broke into their home in San Francisco early Friday.
The attack on Paul Pelosi, 82, added to the nation's already perilous political climate 11 days before the midterms. According to authorities, as reported by AP News, the suspect was calling out, "Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?" while seeking the Democratic leader.
Suspect Demands to See House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
When the attack in California occurred, Speaker Pelosi was in Washington. She landed in San Francisco late on Friday.
David DePape, 42, was detained on suspicion of attempted murder, elder abuse, and burglary, according to the police.
The speaker's office stated Paul Pelosi had surgery to address a skull fracture and right arm and hand injuries. Doctors anticipate a full recovery for him. Following the hammer attack, Biden immediately called Speaker Pelosi to express his support, and both Democratic and Republican congressional leaders denounced the incident.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the president was praying for Paul Pelosi as well as for Speaker Pelosi's entire family. "The president continues to condemn all violence," Jean-Pierre noted.
In a tweet, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell expressed his shock and disgust at the attack. Police officers sent to the Pelosi residence for an "A-priority wellbeing check" witnessed and stopped the early-morning attack, which is still under investigation, according to San Francisco Police Chief William Scott.
According to CNN, Paul Pelosi dialed emergency 911 and spoke in "code," giving the dispatcher the impression that something was amiss even though he did not outright state that he was being attacked. A source told Politico that Pelosi told the attacker he needed to use the toilet, where his phone was charging, and then called 911 from there.
A person briefed on the incident, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said that the attacker asked, "Where is Nancy?" before beating her husband.
Drew Hammill, the spokeswoman for Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement that her husband had been attacked by an aggressor "who acted with force" and endangered his existence while "demanding to see the Speaker."
How the intruder got inside the Pelosis' three-story Pacific Heights townhouse is unknown. Broken glass was visible on an outside door at the back of the house in aerial pictures.
Suspect Possibly Engaged in 'Satanic' Acts
There is little known information about the suspect as of present reporting. Internet user "daviddepape" has posted on various websites endorsing the cult-like conspiracy theory QAnon and supporting former president Donald Trump.
The posts mention "satanic pedophilia," anti-Semitic stereotypes, women, transgender people, and tech censorship. The San Francisco Chronicle published a picture of a man it identified as Depape dancing in full attire during the nudist activists' wedding in San Francisco in 2013. Depape, a hemp jewelry manufacturer who lived with the couple in Berkeley, was the best man.
BBC has found evidence of a suspect's blog, website, and social media profiles that are full of anti-Semitic memes, Holocaust denial, allusions to far-right websites, and mentions of conspiracy theories like QAnon.
Additionally, he published disproven election fraud claims. His latest posts were all over the place and included numerous extreme right-wing and far-right viewpoints.
