Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul was attacked by an intruder with a hammer in the early hours of Friday morning but is expected to make a full recovery after emerging from surgery Friday afternoon. Doctors repaired a skull fracture as well as other “serious injuries,” according to a statement released by Mrs. Pelosi’s spokesperson Drew Hammill:
“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,” he said. “His doctors expect a full recovery.”
“The Speaker and her family are thankful for the outpouring of support and prayers from friends, constituents and people around the country. The Pelosi family is immensely grateful to Mr. Pelosi’s entire medical team and the law enforcement officers who responded to the assault. The family appreciates respect for their privacy during this time.”
Nancy Pelosi is reportedly at his side. Paul had been admitted to San Francisco’s Zuckerberg Hospital earlier in the day and was treated for facial injuries before undergoing the surgery. Secret Service agents were positioned at the hospital as the 82-year-old was cared for.
As RedState reported, Mr. Pelosi was attacked in his own home by a man now known to be 42-year-old David DePape (some outlets are reporting that it’s spelled Depape). Although no motive has been established, Nick Arama reports that DePape has a history of weird social media posts:
An account that Heavy alleges is connected to DePape has a lot of wild posts on it, but no pictures that I could see of DePape, although it had his name on the account. They show someone posting a lot of crazy things, including about censorship, COVID, and a variety of issues.
CNN however is reporting that a blog by someone called “daviddepape” featured “antisemitic screeds and QAnon-linked content in recent weeks, including videos that involved Pelosi.” Fox meanwhile reports that he had ties to a “radical nudist activist,” whatever that means. There are also unconfirmed reports that Mr. Pelosi called DePape a friend, but that’s unclear at this time. Adding to the confusion, there were also initial accounts that DePape was found in his underwear, but there is some dispute among news outlets about that too. The local Fox affiliate in San Francisco, meanwhile, claims that an anti-government manifesto was found that contained a list of targets.
The point is, the story is changing by the minute. There’s an awful lot we don’t know, and people should stop making pronouncements about what happened and why until all the facts are in.
DePape was injured by police responding to the situation and was also taken to Zuckerberg Hospital. He will eventually be taken into custody by officers for suspicion of attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, and several additional felonies, according to the SFPD.
Although police have spoken with the suspect, no motive has been released, and no clear-cut ideology has been established. That hasn’t stopped MSNBC, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Harvard Professor Lawrence Tribe, The Atlantic, and a host of others from rushing to connect the attack to Donald Trump and Jan. 6. The latest to weigh in is Divider in Chief Joe Biden, who spoke at a fundraising dinner Friday night and made sure to inflame passions with scant evidence. According to CNN, he said:
“This is despicable. There’s no place in America — there’s too much violence, political violence. Too much hatred. Too much vitriol,” Biden told a fundraising dinner Friday in Philadelphia.
He said the chant the intruder reported used upon entering Pelosi’s home — “Where’s Nancy?” — was the same one used during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.
The truth is until the attacker speaks, we don’t know what his motivation was. Maybe he is some Qanon quack, maybe he’s a crazed nudist as others have speculated. Until we know more, however, the rampant speculation by people who should know better is irresponsible and just fans the flames.
This is a fast-moving story, and we will keep you updated as more information comes in.
