Arrested for assaulting Speaker Pelosi’s spouse faces charges

Police have not yet given a motive for the October 28 morning attack on Paul Pelosi, 82, who, according to his wife’s office, underwent emergency surgery for a skull and right arm injury. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery.

The 82-year-old Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi herself, as already reported, was in Washington with her security detail at the time of the attack and immediately flew to San Francisco to be by her husband’s side. She is a member of the Democratic Party and the third person of the state who, under the Constitution, can assume the presidency in cases of special situations.

Police identified the man arrested at the scene as 42-year-old David Depape. He was also taken to a San Francisco hospital and taken into custody on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, battery, burglary and several other crimes. Formal charges are expected to be filed by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.

A statement from Drew Hammill, Nancy Pelosi’s press secretary, said Paul Pelosi was attacked “by a man who acted with force and threatened his life, demanding a meeting with the speaker.” According to a Reuters source who remains anonymous, the assailant shouted: “Where’s Nancy?”

San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said at a briefing on the evening of Oct. 28 that the intruder entered Pelosi’s three-story home in the Pacific Heights neighborhood through the back door. Aerial photos showed broken glass in the back of the house.

William Scott also said that the 911 operator who took the call applied her experience and intuition to “understand that there was more behind the incident than what the caller had told her,” so she forwarded the call to the next higher priority than usual. Scott called the operator’s decision “life-saving.”

Police officers who arrived on the scene saw Depape and Pelosi struggling through the front door for the hammer. Depape snatched the hammer and struck Pelosi at least once.

Police, with the help of FBI agents, have yet to determine a motive for the crime, but William Scott said: “We know this was not a random act by the suspect.”

In recent posts on several websites, an Internet user named “daviddepape” expressed support for former President Donald Trump and the conspiracy organization QAnon. The posts included references to “satanic pedophilia,” anti-Semitic remarks, criticism of women, transgender people and censorship of technology companies. Older posts promoted quartz crystals and cannabis bracelets. Reuters has not yet been able to independently confirm that the posts were created by the man arrested on Oct. 28.

The San Francisco Chronicle published a photo of a man it identified as Depape dancing at a wedding of two nudist activists in San Francisco in 2013. The newspaper reported that Depape was at the time a manufacturer of cannabis jewelry, widely known for its anti-allergic effects.

The attack sparked fears of increased political violence less than two weeks before the Nov. 8 midterm elections, which will determine who gets control of the House and Senate amid perhaps the most polarized domestic political situation in the United States in decades.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)