[csusbpeace] Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, in hospital with skull fracture after attack
- From: "raccoon" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> ("bigraccoon1")
- To: "CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 29 Oct 2022 08:39:12 -0700
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/28/paul-pelosi-nancy-pelosi-attack-san-francisco-home?utm_term=635d0ebbef050a57276eb015aaade653&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUS&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUS_email
Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, in hospital with skull fracture after
attack
Paul Pelosi underwent ‘successful surgery’ after he was attacked at his home
early on Friday by an assailant with a hammer
Paul Pelosi with his wife Nancy at a mass led by Pope Francis in Rome in
June. The speaker’s office said the motive for the attack was being
investigated. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock
Paul Pelosi, husband of the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/nancy-pelosi>, was hospitalized with a
skull fracture on Friday after he was attacked at the couple’s home in
California with a hammer by an assailant who was reported to have shouted
“Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?”
Paul Pelosi, 82, underwent “successful surgery” to repair a skull fracture
and other “serious injuries” sustained during the assault and is expected to
make a full recovery”, according to Nancy Pelosi’s longtime spokesperson,
Drew Hammill.
“Earlier this morning, Paul Pelosi was attacked at home by an assailant who
acted with force, and threatened his life while demanding to see the
speaker,” Hammill said in a statement on Friday afternoon.
San Francisco police said that Paul Pelosi managed to call 911, but didn’t
directly report what was happening, but that a dispatcher sent officers to
follow up with a “wellbeing check” at about 2.27am local time on Friday
morning. They found an adult male confronting Paul Pelosi, and a hammer was
being grasped by both men.
“The suspect pulled the hammer away from Pelosi and violently assaulted him
with it. Our officers immediately tackled the suspect, disarmed him, took him
into custody,” said Bill Scott, chief of the San Francisco police department.
Scott named the suspect as David DePape, 42, and said he broke in through a
back door. Charges are to be brought at the San Francisco county jail,
including attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse,
burglary and other felonies. DePape remained in the hospital on Friday
evening, but the chief did not disclose his condition.
Scott said police were still investigating the motive, but said: “This was
not a random act, this was intentional.”
San Francisco police officers and FBI agents gather in front of the home of
Nancy and Paul Pelosi in San Francisco. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty
Images
It was reported by CNN
<https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/28/politics/paul-pelosi-attack/index.html> that
the suspect intended to tie the victim up “until Nancy got home” and that he
had posted rightwing and conspiracy theories online, including content
promoting the lie that Donald Trump was deprived of victory in the 2020
election because of voter fraud.
In a statement
<https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/28/politics/pelosi-attack-suspect-conspiracy-theories-invs>
to CNN, an acquaintance of DePape’s said he appeared to be “out of touch
with reality”. Two of the suspect’s relatives also told the network that
DePape, who grew up in British Columbia, Canada, was estranged from his
family.
In addition to multiple conspiracy posts on his Facebook account, which was
reviewed by CNN and later taken down by Meta on Friday, DePape is also
believed to have managed a blog to which he regularly posted screeds
concerning the “ruling class”. The blog, which the San Francisco Chronicle
reviewed and was later taken down, had a banner that said “Welcome to Big
Brothers Censorship Hell”, along with numerous conspiracy posts about the
government, media outlets and tech companies.
President Joe Biden called the attack on Paul Pelosi “despicable” and
denounced people who spread lies about stolen elections for corroding the
political climate and contributing to politically motivated violence.
“Enough is enough is enough,” Biden told supporters at a Democratic party
fundraiser in Philadelphia on Friday. “Every person of good conscience needs
to clearly and unambiguously stand up against the violence in our politics,
regardless of what your politics are.
“Democracy is literally, not figuratively, on the ballot this year,” said
Biden, who warned about the dangers of extremism in an impassioned speech in
Philadelphia last month.
The president said reports indicated the attack on Paul Pelosi was aimed at
Nancy Pelosi and noted that the suspected assailant used the same chant –
“Where’s Nancy?” – heard from supporters of former president Donald Trump
when they stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
Biden said it was not surprising that one party’s repeated lies about stolen
elections could affect “people who may not be so well-balanced”.
Barack Obama reacts to attack on 'good friend' Paul Pelosi – video
According to the Associated Press, the attacker had specifically targeted the
Pelosi family home. Video footage of the house showed glass shattered
<https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1586035601794600960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1586035601794600960%7Ctwgr%5Edd4a131f9718d5b5d9dec4b792249b4e70179c0b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2Flive%2F2022%2Foct%2F28%2Fdemocrats-obama-midterms-republicans-us-politics-live-updates>
in a side entrance, indicating where the break-in may have occurred.
A person briefed on the situation told AP that the intruder had confronted
Paul Pelosi while demanding to know where his wife was.
The speaker, who is second in line to succeed the president, was not at home
at the time of the attack, but was in Washington DC with security protection
that accompanies her at all times as standard.
Her husband suffered blunt force trauma to the head and body in the attack.
He was admitted to Zuckerberg San Francisco general hospital for bruising,
severe swelling and other injuries to his right arm and hands. Nancy Pelosi
returned to San Francisco to be with her husband and reportedly arrived at
the hospital on Friday afternoon.
Paul Pelosi and Nancy Pelosi in New York. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty
Images
While the exact motivation for the attack was unclear on Friday morning, it
raised fears about the safety of members of Congress
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/31/us-political-violence-threats-against-lawmakers>
and their families.
Concerns have been rising, particularly since the insurrection by extremist
supporters of Donald Trump intent on overturning his loss to Joe Biden, about
a new era of violent threats
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/31/us-political-violence-threats-against-lawmakers>
against US lawmakers and their families, staff. Recently released footage
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/14/do-you-believe-this-new-video-shows-how-nancy-pelosi-took-charge-in-capitol-riot>
showed how Nancy Pelosi took charge during the riot while she and other
officials were sheltering from the violence. One man who had grabbed
<https://www.npr.org/2022/02/25/1083230184/the-man-who-grabbed-pelosis-podium-during-the-jan-6-riot-is-sentenced-to-prison>
the speaker’s podium during the insurrection has since been sentenced to
prison.
In July, members of Congress were given $10,000 each
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/31/us-political-violence-threats-against-lawmakers>
to upgrade security at their homes in the face of rising threats. Some have
pushed for even more protection, pointing to people turning up at their homes
and an increasing amount of threatening communications.
Political leaders of both parties denounced attack, which occurred in the
closing days of a fiercely-contested midterm election.
Biden called Nancy Pelosi on Friday morning and the White House said he was
“very glad that a full recovery is expected”.
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader in the US Senate, called
Friday’s attack “a dastardly act” and conveyed his “deepest concern and
heartfelt wishes” to Nancy Pelosi.
Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader in the House who is poised to take over
as speaker should the Democrats
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/democrats> lose control of the chamber
in next month’s midterm elections, reached out to “check in on Paul”
according to a spokesperson.
The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell
<https://twitter.com/LeaderMcConnell/status/1586017719912210440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1586017719912210440%7Ctwgr%5Edd4a131f9718d5b5d9dec4b792249b4e70179c0b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2Flive%2F2022%2Foct%2F28%2Fdemocrats-obama-midterms-republicans-us-politics-live-updates>,
said he was “horrified and disgusted” by the assault.
Paul Pelosi is a businessman who runs his own real estate and venture capital
investment firm, Financial Leasing Services, based in San Francisco. He met
Nancy D’Alesandro when they were both students in Washington DC, and they
married in 1963. They have five children and many grandchildren.
Nancy Pelosi has had two stints as speaker of the US House, between 2007 to
2011 and since January 2019. She represents California’s 12th congressional
district.
Police stand at the top of the closed street outside the home of Paul Pelosi.
Photograph: Eric Risberg/AP
The investigation into Friday’s attack is being handled jointly by the FBI,
the US Capitol police (USCP) and local San Francisco officers.
A team of threat assessment investigators from the east coast was also sent
to assist the FBI and the San Francisco police department with a joint
investigation.
Nancy Pelosi had just returned to Washington this week from a security
conference in Europe and was due to make a keynote speech at an LGBTQ+
advocacy event on Saturday evening with vice-president, Kamala Harris, but
has canceled her appearance. In Philadelphia on Friday evening, the
vice-president called
<https://twitter.com/kellyo/status/1586120727266197504?s=46&t=SfbCwt2zAoSIbHPgNMFQMg>
the attack an “act of extreme violence” and condemned hateful and divisive
discourse in politics, saying, “anyone who professes to be a leader has to
really understand the meaning and the impact of their words”.
In addition to the rising threats on members of Congress, state and local
politicians have also been confronted by increased threat levels. This week
the campaign office of Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s secretary of state who is
running for governor of the state in next month’s midterm elections, was
broken into.
A suspect, Daniel Mota Dos Reis, has been charged with third-degree burglary.
Often at Pelosi’s side during formal events in Washington, Paul Pelosi
largely remains on the west coast.
In recent polls, American voters ranked “threats to democracy” among the most
important issues facing the country. At a time of climate collapse, inflation
and a pandemic, this speaks powerfully to the fragility of America’s
fundamental rights and freedoms.
The country is seeing a dizzying number of assaults on democracy, from
draconian abortion bans to a record number of book bans. Politicians who
spread lies and sought to delegitimize the 2020 election are pursuing offices
that will put them in control of the country’s election machinery. Meanwhile,
the supreme court is enforcing its own agenda on abortion, guns and
environmental protections – often in opposition to public opinion.
Other related posts:
- » [csusbpeace] Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, in hospital with skull fracture after attack - raccoon
