Nancy Pelosi’s husband assaulted in home

Police officers arrived at the home at about 2:30 a.m. Friday to find a suspect wrestling with Paul Pelosi, 82, the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The two men were fighting over a hammer before the suspect pulled the hammer free of Pelosi’s grip and began to strike him with it. Police subdued the suspect, took him into custody, and later identified him as David DePape, 42. Police said both were brought to a local hospital for treatment. DePape will face charges of attempted homicide, among other charges, according to San Francisco police.

Why the attack? Police said a motive for the attack is still being determined.  The Associated Press reported that the assailant allegedly shouted, “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” repeatedly while attacking Paul Pelosi. The speaker was in Washington for a scheduled appearance at a fundraising event for an LGBTQ group Saturday night. In 2021, Capitol Police investigated around 9,600 threats made against members of Congress, and several members have been physically attacked in recent years.

Dig deeper: Read Emily Belz’s report from the WORLD archives about whether the U.S. will see a repeat of the domestic terrorism of the 1990s.