The assault on Paul Pelosi

Another example of political violence, which is increasing in our disturbed culture.

Nancy Pelosi was in Washington when husband Paul was attacked. Picture: AFP

The home invasion and assault on Paul Pelosi is another sickening example of political violence in our increasingly disturbed culture. We’re glad to see the attack denounced by partisans on the right and left, but we wish we could say this will be the last such assault.

Police say Mr Pelosi was attacked shortly before 2.30am with a hammer by 42-year-old David DePape, who will be charged with attempted murder, among other things. DePape was apparently looking for Nancy Pelosi at their San Francisco home and shouted “Where is Nancy?” before attacking the House of Representatives Speaker’s 82-year-old husband.

Ms Pelosi was fortunately in Washington at the time. Her office said her husband, who was hospitalised with head and body trauma, “is expected to make a full recovery”.

The assailant’s motives were not clear by the time of publication, but he seems to have been caught up like many others in conspiracy theories spun on the internet. DePape posted links regarding right-wing election claims and he called the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer convicted of killing George Floyd, a “modern lynching”.

He also sold hemp bracelets with peace signs and posted rants about Jesus being the antichrist. In other words, he fits the profile of an alienated, perhaps mentally ill, person who latches on to internet obsessions, some of which turn out to be political.

San Francisco police officers and FBI agents gather in front of the home of Nancy and Paul Pelosi on Saturday. Picture: AFP

The US is full of such people, and their political targets are on the left and right, Democrats and Republicans. The gunman who nearly killed Republican House whip Steve Scalise in 2017 at a congressional baseball practice was a Bernie Sanders supporter. The man with weapons and ill-intent arrested outside Supreme Court judge Brett Kavanaugh’s home this year was angry about the possible overturning of Roe v Wade.

There’s no easy solution to this problem given our larger cultural breakdown. Prominent politicians will inevitably become targets. Capitol Police say they investigated 9600 threats against politicians in 2021. Recall the man who rushed New York Republican representative Lee Zeldin with a key chain with two sharp points this summer as he campaigned for governor.

More security will have to be provided to public officials, and candidates will have to take precautions. The growing risks will deter many people from considering politics.

The political and media classes can help by avoiding hateful rhetoric aimed at their opponents. They can also not pile on Supreme Court judge Samuel Alito, as some did last week after he said that the leak of his draft Supreme Court opinion in the Dobbs abortion case led to the threats against Kavanaugh. Alito was right, but left-wing Twitter treated him like a paranoid complainer.

The risk of violence will grow as the November 8 midterm election nears and passions get hot, and as more people come to mistakenly believe that any one election will determine the country’s fate. Small-d democratic tolerance is in short supply these days, but it behoves everyone in public life to practice it.

The Wall Street Journal