(Trends Wide) — The man who allegedly attacked Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at the couple’s San Francisco home, is expected to be charged with multiple felonies on Monday, according to San Francisco police officials. . He is also expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.
“We are coordinating closely with federal and local law enforcement partners on this investigation. We will file several felony charges on Monday and hope that [el sospechoso David DePape] be processed on Tuesday. DePape will be held accountable for his heinous crimes,” the San Francisco district attorney tweetedBrooke Jenkins, Friday night.
Here’s a look at what we know, and don’t yet know, about the attack:
how the attack happened
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with her husband Paul Pelosi attend a Holy Mass for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul led by Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica. (Photo by Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
An intruder, identified by police as 42-year-old David DePape, confronted 82-year-old Paul Pelosi with a hammer early Friday morning and yelled, “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?” according to a law enforcement source. The assailant tried to tie up Pelosi “until Nancy got home,” two sources familiar with the situation told Trends Wide.
Pelosi called 911 when she encountered the man threatening him and left the line open so a dispatcher could listen in on her conversation with DePape, speaking in code but making it clear she needed help, according to a law enforcement source.
San Francisco police entered the home around 2:27 a.m. local time Friday (5:27 a.m. Miami time) and found Pelosi struggling with a man, who has since been identified as DePape, according to the chief. city police. Agents saw DePape “violently assault” Pelosi with a hammer before knocking him down and arresting him.
“It’s really thanks to Mr. Pelosi having the ability to make that call, and really that dispatcher’s attention and instincts to realize something was wrong in that situation and make the police call a priority.” to get there within two minutes to respond,” Jenkins told Trends Wide’s Erin Burnett on Friday.
Police said DePape entered through a back door and it was unclear if he bypassed any security measures.
Pelosi was taken to a hospital after the attack and underwent “successful surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to her right arm and hands,” Drew Hammill, a spokeswoman for Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement published Friday by the night. He is expected to make a full recovery.
The reason is unknown
Authorities said Friday that the suspect is in the hospital with minor injuries.
DePape was not known to the US Capitol Police and was not in any federal database that tracks threats, according to three sources briefed on the investigation. But he had posted memes and conspiracy theories on Facebook about Covid-19 vaccines, the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol.
The US Capitol Police said in a statement Friday that it is assisting the FBI and San Francisco Police “with a joint investigation” into the break-in.
Law enforcement officials have not provided a motive for the attack, but San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said at a news conference Friday that the attack was “intentional” and “not an act of random”.
“It’s wrong. Our elected officials are here to do the jobs of their cities, their counties, their states and this nation. Their families don’t sign up for this, to be harmed, and it’s wrong,” Scott said.
Fear of political violence grows
Nancy Pelosi was not home at the time of the attack, but she traveled to California on Friday to be with her husband. The security detail for legislators, including the Speaker of the House, does not protect their spouses when members of Congress are not with them. Pelosi was able to talk to her husband after the attack and before he was taken into surgery, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The attack resonated in Washington, prompting an outpouring of condolences and condemnation from congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle. He has also highlighted fears of political violence directed against lawmakers in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, as well as other high-profile violent incidents that have directly harmed lawmakers in recent years.
President Joe Biden described the attack on Paul Pelosi as “despicable” and directly linked the attack to rising tensions from right-wing extremism.
“This is despicable. There is no place in America, there is too much violence, political violence. Too much hate. Too much vitriol,” Biden said at a fundraising dinner in Philadelphia on Friday.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a tweet on Friday that he was “appalled and disgusted” by the reports, while House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy’s office said it had reached out to Pelosi.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, speaking at a campaign event on Saturday, asked people to pray for Paul Pelosi and reflect on what led up to the brutal attack.
“I want you to think about the environment that has been created in America by some who would bring us down, who would turn on each other, who would demean our Constitution and our declaration and proposition that ‘all men and women are created equal,'” the Maryland Democrat said. “We say, ‘Those truths are self-evident,’ but they are not self-executing. It is up to us to make sure that America survives the hatred and division that many create in our country.”
“An Open Investigation”
Authorities in San Francisco are calling on the public to provide information about the attack.
“While an arrest has been made, this remains an open investigation,” the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement.
Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 1-415-575-4444.
Trends Wide’s Jamie Gangel, Clare Foran, Whitney Wild, Sam Fossum and John Miller contributed to this report.
