Man arrested in attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband faces charges - Reuters.com

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The antheral who clubbed U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's hubby successful the caput with hammer, shouting "Where is Nancy?" aft forcing his mode into the couple's San Francisco home, faced charges of attempted execution and different felonies a time later.

Police initially declined to connection a motive for Friday's battle connected Paul Pelosi, 82, who according to his wife's bureau underwent country for a skull fracture and injuries to his close limb and hands, though doctors expect a afloat recovery.

But the incidental stoked fears astir governmental unit little than 2 weeks up of midterm elections connected Nov. 8 that volition determine power of the House of Representatives and Senate, coming amid the astir vitriolic and polarized U.S. governmental clime successful decades.

The 82-year-old House talker herself, a Democrat who is 2nd successful the law enactment of succession to the U.S. presidency, was successful Washington astatine the clip of the assault.

She flew to San Francisco to beryllium with her husband. Three dark-colored SUVs believed to beryllium to a peculiar information item were parked connected Saturday with a metropolis constabulary patrol car extracurricular Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, wherever Paul Pelosi was admitted.

Paul Pelosi Jr., the couple's son, was besides astatine the hospital. Asked by a newsman for an update connected his father, helium replied: "So far, truthful good."

President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters successful Wilmington, Delaware, connected Saturday, said helium understood Pelosi's hubby "seems to beryllium doing a batch better," and that the onslaught appeared to person been "intended for Nancy."

Police identified the antheral arrested astatine the country arsenic David DePape, 42. He, too, was taken to a San Francisco hospital.

Online sheriff's records showed helium was booked into custody connected suspicion of attempted murder, battle with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, battery, burglary, and respective different felonies. Formal charges volition beryllium filed connected Monday, and his arraignment is expected connected Tuesday, according to the San Francisco territory attorney's office.

San Francisco Police Chief William Scott told a Friday nighttime quality briefing that constabulary detectives, assisted by FBI agents, had yet to find what precipitated the location penetration but said, "We cognize this was not a random act."

A connection from Nancy Pelosi's spokesperson, Drew Hammill, said Pelosi's hubby had been attacked "by an assailant who acted with force, and threatened his beingness portion demanding to spot the Speaker."

The intruder shouted, "Where is Nancy?" earlier attacking, according to a idiosyncratic briefed connected the incidental who spoke to Reuters connected information of anonymity.

FROM HEMP TO HATE?

In the hunt for a motive, attraction turned to the suspect's evident net profile.

In caller posts connected respective websites, an net idiosyncratic named "daviddepape" expressed enactment for erstwhile President Donald Trump and embraced the cult-like conspiracy mentation QAnon. The posts included references to "satanic pedophilia," anti-Semitic tropes and disapproval of women, transgender radical and censorship by tech companies.

Older messages promoted quartz crystals and hemp bracelets. Reuters could not corroborate that the posts were created by the antheral arrested connected Friday.

Experts connected extremism said the antheral who attacked Pelosi's hubby could beryllium an illustration of a increasing inclination they telephone "stochastic terrorism," successful which sometimes-unstable individuals are inspired to unit by hatred code and scenarios they spot online and perceive echoed by nationalist figures.

"This was intelligibly a targeted attack. The intent was to find and perchance harm the talker of the House," said John Cohen, a erstwhile counterterrorism coordinator and caput of quality astatine the Department of Homeland Security who is moving with U.S. instrumentality enforcement agencies connected the issue.

The San Francisco Chronicle posted a photograph of a antheral it identified arsenic DePape dancing astatine the 2013 wedding of 2 nudist activists successful San Francisco, though helium was clothed. DePape, past a hemp jewelry shaper who lived with the mates successful Berkeley, was the champion man, the paper reported.

Scott said the intruder forced his mode into the Pelosis' three-story reddish ceramic townhouse done a rear door. Aerial photos showed shattered solid astatine the backmost of the location successful the city's affluent Pacific Heights neighborhood.

WELLBEING CHECK

The main said constabulary were dispatched for an "A-priority wellbeing check" astatine astir 2:30 a.m. connected the ground of a somewhat cryptic emergency-911 telephone from the residence. Other quality outlets reported the telephone was placed by Paul Pelosi.

Scott credited the 911 relation with utilizing her acquisition and intuition to "figure retired that determination was much to this incidental than what she was being told" by the caller, truthful she dispatched the telephone astatine a higher precedence than normal. Scott called her determination "life-saving."

According to Scott, constabulary arriving astatine the country caught a glimpse done the beforehand doorway of DePape and Pelosi struggling implicit a hammer. As the officers yelled astatine some men to driblet the tool, DePape yanked the hammer distant and was seen striking Pelosi astatine slightest once, the main said.

The officers past tackled, disarmed and arrested DePape and took some men to hospital, Scott said.

The incidental came a time aft New York City constabulary warned that extremists could people politicians, governmental events and polling sites up of the midterm elections.

The U.S. Capitol Police said they investigated 9,625 threats against lawmakers from some parties successful 2021, astir a threefold summation from 2017.

As a Democratic person successful Washington and a longtime typical from 1 of America's astir wide cities, Nancy Pelosi is simply a predominant people of Republican criticism.

Her bureau was ransacked during the Jan. 6, 2021, onslaught connected the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Republican then-President Trump, immoderate of whom hunted for her during the assault.

In January 2021, her location was vandalized with graffiti a pig's caput near successful beforehand of the garage, media reported. The location of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was besides vandalized astir that time.

Reporting by Nathan Frandino successful San Francisco and Steve Gorman successful Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal, Andy Sullivan, Brendan O'Brien, Jonathan Allen, Doina Chiacu, Rich McKay, Rami Ayyub, Tim Ahmann, Dan Whitcomb, Ismail Shakil, Tyler Clifford, and Gram Slattery; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Alistair Bell and Daniel Wallis

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