Nancy Pelosi's husband attacked at their San Francisco home - Los Angeles Times

SAN FRANCISCO — 

Calling retired for “Nancy,” an intruder who forced his mode into the San Francisco location of the U.S. House talker aboriginal Friday had a people successful mind, authorities said, earlier helium attacked her hubby and fractured his skull with a hammer.

Paul Pelosi, 82, is recovering from country astatine Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital “to repair a skull fracture and superior injuries to his close limb and hands,” said Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. He is expected to retrieve fully.

Although the attacker’s motive remains undetermined, the unit — 11 days up of the midterm predetermination — has sparked alarm successful portion due to the fact that of heightened interest astir the information of nationalist officials astatine their homes and offices. Those worries person compounded in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack connected the U.S. Capitol, wherever Nancy Pelosi was 1 of the targets.

A root who was briefed connected the Friday onslaught said the assailant shouted, “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” earlier confronting Paul Pelosi.

“Based connected our probe astatine this constituent … this was not a random act,” San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said during a quality league Friday evening. “This was intentional.”

Scott identified the fishy arsenic David DePape, 42, and said officers responded to the Pelosi location astir 2:27 a.m.

At the commencement of the break-in, Paul Pelosi told the intruder that helium had to usage the bathroom, past made a surreptitious 911 telephone connected his cellphone and near the enactment open, sources acquainted with the onslaught told The Times. Dispatcher Heather Grimes could perceive Pelosi talking to his attacker and alerted officers to the scene.

“It is truly acknowledgment to Mr. Pelosi having the quality to beryllium capable to marque that telephone and genuinely the attraction and instincts of that dispatcher to recognize that thing was incorrect and to marque the constabulary telephone a priority,” San Francisco Dist. Atty. Brooke Jenkins told CNN, adding that officers got to the country successful 2 minutes.

Scott praised Grimes’ speedy thinking.

“She had to construe what she was being told,” helium said astatine the quality conference. “And based connected her acquisition and intuition, she fundamentally figured retired that determination was thing much to this incidental than what she was being told. Her actions, successful my opinion, resulted successful some a higher-priority dispatch and a faster constabulary response.”

When constabulary arrived and knocked connected the beforehand door, Scott said, idiosyncratic wrong opened the door. The officers saw Paul Pelosi and DePape, “each with 1 manus connected a azygous hammer,” helium said.

After officers ordered some men to driblet the hammer, DePape “immediately” pulled the instrumentality from Pelosi and “violently attacked him with the hammer,” Scott said.

Police tackled DePape, grabbed the hammer and took him into custody earlier calling for backup and opening archetypal aid.

Suspect David DePape successful 2013.

(Michael Short / San Francisco Chronicle)

At immoderate constituent aft constabulary arrived, DePape said helium was “waiting for Nancy,” a instrumentality enforcement root told The Times.

After DePape was taken to a hospital, helium was booked Friday day connected suspicion of attempted murder, first-degree burglary, battle with a deadly weapon, threatening a household subordinate of a nationalist official, elder abuse, artillery with superior bodily injury, dissuading a witnesser and injuring a wireless device.

Scott confirmed that DePape had “forced entry” into a rear doorway of the Pelosi home.

Jenkins, the San Francisco territory attorney, said her bureau is “working closely” with authorities “and volition proceed with the due charges arsenic things unfold.”

Police connected Friday basal astatine the closed thoroughfare extracurricular the San Francisco location of Nancy and Paul Pelosi.

(Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

Nancy Pelosi was successful Washington, D.C., with her protective item astatine the clip of the break-in, according to the U.S. Capitol Police.

“The talker and her household are grateful to the archetypal responders and aesculapian professionals involved, and petition privateness astatine this time,” her bureau said successful a statement.

President Biden spoke with the congresswoman Friday greeting “to explicit his enactment aft this horrible attack,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House property secretary, said successful a statement.

Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking successful Philadelphia with Biden, said: “I commune for Paul’s recovery. I cognize the Pelosis, and this is tragic. Somebody virtually broke into their location saying, ‘Where’s Nancy?’”

Biden linked the onslaught to a worrying emergence successful governmental violence.

“Enough is capable is enough,” the president said successful Philadelphia. “Every idiosyncratic of bully conscience needs to intelligibly and unambiguously basal up against the unit successful our politics.”

The U.S. Capitol Police said successful a statement that it has sent peculiar agents and menace appraisal investigators to the country and is assisting the FBI and San Francisco police.

A constabulary serviceman blocks disconnected the Pelosi home.

(Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

The Pelosis unrecorded successful Pacific Heights, 1 of San Francisco’s astir exclusive neighborhoods. On Friday, constabulary blocked disconnected the thoroughfare extracurricular the home.

John Braun, who has lived successful San Francisco for 50 years, lamented the onslaught arsenic helium walked his canine nearby, portion helicopters buzzed overhead.

“Nobody should beryllium attacked successful their homes,” helium said. “Nobody should beryllium attacked anywhere.”

Deborah Karel, who has lived successful the vicinity for 3 decades, said she was “horrified” by the assault.

“That anyone would spell aft our governmental leaders ... but besides conscionable communal radical that they don’t hold with ... I consciousness similar this is 1 of the galore things that keeps happening that makes maine precise disquieted astir democracy,” she said.

“I’m 72, and I’ve ne'er been this worried. It ne'er occurred to maine that ideology mightiness fail. But present it does. And this seems related.”

Aerial footage of the Pelosi location showed a backmost patio doorway with shattered glass.

Images of the four-bedroom ceramic home, built successful 1938, are regularly featured connected blimpish websites. The location has been the tract of protests; past year, idiosyncratic utilized achromatic spray overgarment to constitute “A,” for “anarchy,” connected the store door, and a severed pig’s caput was near successful beforehand of the home.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi arriving astatine a property league connected Capitol Hill connected Jan. 7, 2021, 1 time aft the deadly onslaught connected the U.S. Capitol, successful which she was a target.

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

The battle comes astatine a tense clip successful the U.S., which is grappling up of the midterms with bitter partisanship and a wide content successful governmental conspiracy theories — including astir the legitimacy of the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination — that person led to unit and threats against politicians, predetermination workers and different nationalist figures.

Democratic politicians connected Friday were speedy to blasted the onslaught connected hyper-partisanship and divisive governmental rhetoric.

“This heinous battle is yet different illustration of the unsafe consequences of the divisive and hateful rhetoric that is putting lives astatine hazard and undermining our precise ideology and Democratic institutions,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said successful a statement. “Those who are utilizing their platforms to incite unit indispensable beryllium held to account.”

“Our leaders should ne'er fearfulness for their information and the information of their families successful serving the radical they were elected to correspond — not successful their homes, not astatine the U.S. Capitol, not anywhere.”

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said successful a connection that the battle was “terrifying, and the nonstop effect of toxic right-wing rhetoric and incitement against Speaker Pelosi and truthful galore different progressive leaders.”

“Words person consequences,” helium added, “and without question, the GOP’s hatred and extremism has bred governmental violence.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tweeted that helium was “horrified and disgusted” by the onslaught and thanked Capitol Police for their investigation.

Meanwhile, conservatives tried to overgarment the onslaught arsenic an illustration of rising transgression — a cardinal contented successful the midterm election.

Nathan Hochman, a Republican defence lawyer and erstwhile national authoritative who is moving to unseat California’s Democratic lawyer general, Rob Bonta, showed up extracurricular Pelosi’s location Friday morning.

Standing beside constabulary portion blocking the street, helium told a Times newsman that the incidental was an illustration of rampant transgression successful California.

“If Paul Pelosi can’t beryllium harmless successful his location successful San Francisco, however tin anyone beryllium safe?” Hochman said. “This is simply a continuum of a spiral of lawlessness. Enough is enough.”

Political unit has been connected the emergence successful California and crossed the nation.

In June, a Simi Valley antheral was charged with attempted murder of a U.S. Supreme Court justness aft being recovered with a gun, weapon and capsicum spray near the Maryland home of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.

Last month, Rep. Karen Bass’ (D-Los Angeles) mayoral run announced that the congresswoman’s location “had been broken into and burglarized.” She said 2 firearms that were “safely and securely stored” were stolen.

In Northern California, a San Ramon antheral was convicted connected aggregate weapon charges, including having a concealed firearm successful his care, aft threatening the beingness of Wiener past month.

Erik Triana, 51, was arrested aft helium sent Wiener a menace done the authorities senator’s “contact me” website portal that read: “Vax my kids without my support and expect a sojourn from maine and my rifle.”

In May, a Napa man, Ian Rogers, 46, pleaded blameworthy to conspiring to destruct a gathering by occurrence oregon explosives and possession of a instrumentality weapon aft plotting to firebomb the Democratic office successful Sacramento.

Threats against members of Congress person accrued dramatically implicit the past 5 years, according to information from the Capitol Police — from 3,939 cases successful 2017 to 9,625 cases successful 2021.

During the archetypal 3 months of 2022, the latest play for which information are available, Capitol Police person opened astir 1,820 cases, the bureau said.

Capitol Police said successful an email to The Times that, for information reasons, the section “does not sermon imaginable information measures for Members.”

The onslaught connected Pelosi came a time aft the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a report saying that investigations involving home convulsive extremism astir doubled from 2020 to 2021.

The agencies said that successful 2020, the FBI was conducting astir 1,400 home coercion investigations. By the extremity of 2021, it was conducting astir 2,700. A “significant portion” of the investigations past twelvemonth were “directly related to the unlawful activities during the January 2021 siege connected the U.S. Capitol,” the study says.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York said successful a connection that “what happened to Paul Pelosi was a dastardly act.” He said helium spoke with Nancy Pelosi Friday to widen his “deepest interest and heartfelt wishes” to the family.

On Twitter, Meghan McCain, girl of the precocious Sen. John McCain, said Friday that she felt “absolutely sick, horrified and disgusted” astir the quality of the assault.

“What successful God’s sanction is happening successful this country?! Everyone articulation maine and nonstop support, love, prayers, thing you tin to Speaker Pelosi, her hubby and the full Pelosi family,” she wrote. “This is simply a breached world.”

Wiley reported from San Francisco, Petri from New York, and Winton and Yee from Los Angeles. Times unit writers Hailey Branson-Potts and Nolan D. McCaskill contributed to this report.