Nancy Pelosi’s husband tied up, beaten with a hammer in home invasion

A politically motivated attack on House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, has rocked US politics.

US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and husband Paul, who was attacked by an intruder at their home in San Francisco.

A politically motivated attack on House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, has rocked US politics a little over a week out from midterm elections, where rising crime and alleged MAGA extremism have figured prominently in the campaign.

A 42-year-old David Depape invaded the Pelosi’s San Francisco residence in the affluent Pacific Heights suburb in the early hours of Friday morning, tying up the 82-year-old Mr Pelosi before beating him with a hammer. Mr Pelosi, who suffered a fractured skull in the attack, underwent surgery and is recovering in hospital

San Francisco police chief William Scott, in a press conference on Friday (Saturday AEDT), said police were dispatched to the house at 2.27am after a “priority wellbeing check” alert, where they witnessed the assault on Mr Pelosi.

“The motive for this attack is still being determined, but Mr Depape will be booked on attempted homicide, assault with weapons, elder abuse, burglary and several other additional felonies,” Mr Scott said.

Police tape in front of the home of the Pelosi’s home.

Mr Depape yelled “where is Nancy?” upon entering the house by an unlocked back door, according to CNN, and told police “we are waiting for Nancy” when they arrived on the scene, immediately tackling the assailant, who was also taken to hospital.

“Mr. Pelosi was admitted to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital where he underwent successful surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” the speaker’s spokesman added.

Mrs Pelosi, also 82, second in line to become president of the US should anything happen to Mr Biden or Vice president Kamala Harris, was in Washington DC at the time.

Senior politicians from across the political aisle condemned the attack as some Democrats and supporters sought to link the assault to growing “MAGA extremism” inspired by former president Donald Trump, which has central to Democrats’ re-election campaign.

David Depape’s social media contributions included concerns about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, including posts from “My Pillow” founder Mike Lindell, a prominent backer of Mr Trump, and criticism of the January 6th Committee, which has been investigating last year’s Capitol Hill riots.

Other reports and social media images suggested Mr Depape was also a “pro-Castro Nudist Protester”.

President Joe Biden called the attack “despicable” and said that political violence had “no place” in the United States.

“Enough is enough is enough,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Biden, 79, had called Pelosi to express support and said he was praying for her husband, the White House said.

“He is... 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,” Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

She said Mr Biden was “praying for Paul Pelosi and for Speaker Pelosi’s whole family” after he phoned Mrs Pelosi, a veteran Democrat powerbroker in her second stint as House of Representatives Speaker.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, said he was “horrified and disgusted” by assault in a statement.

San Francisco police chief Bill Scott speaks to reporters about the break in and attack.

Prominent Republican senator Rand Paul pointed to alleged Democrat hypocrisy, after the Pelosi’s daughter Christine sympathised on Twitter with an attacker who broke six of his ribs in 2017.

“Unlike Nancy Pelosi’s daughter who celebrated my assault, I condemn this attack and wish Mr Pelosi a speedy recovery,” he tweeted.

The attack has political ramifications for both major political parties in the highly charged political environment leading up to the 8th November midterm elections, where Democrats are expected to struggle to hold onto their slim majorities in congress.

Republicans have argued Democrats’ “soft on crime” policies have underpinned a rise in violet crime across the US since the Covid-19 pandemic. Democrats have argued conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and violence inspired by January 6th riots have fuelled violent attacks.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if a senator or House member were killed,” moderate Republican senator Susan Collins said in a July interview, referencing the growing number of threats senior politicians were facing.

The Speaker’s husband, who is not covered by Mrs Pelosi’s security detail, has been in the spotlight in recent months following a drink driving charge in Florida, where the couple have a second home, which saw him jailed for five days.

The attack joins a growing list of recent assaults or potential assaults on political leaders and top state officials, including a thwarted plot to murder Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh in June after the overturning of the Roe v Wade abortion verdict.

Republican candidate for Governor Lee Zeldin was attacked at a campaign rally in July by a man wielding a knife.