Paul Pelosi, the husband of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, recuperates from surgery after being attacked at the couple’s San Francisco home by a hammer-wielding assailant.
Mr. Pelosi, 82, sustained a broken head and injuries to his right arm and wrists, but he is expected to recover fully.
The incident has heightened worries of political violence in the run-up to the midterm elections on November 8.
David Depape, 42, is claimed to have wanted to see Nancy Pelosi.
President Biden called the incident “despicable” and blamed a poisonous political atmosphere for fueling violence.
“Enough is enough is enough,” he said during a speech in Philadelphia. “Every person of good conscience needs to clearly and unambiguously stand up against the violence in our politics, regardless of what your politics are.”
The US government sent a statement to law enforcement hours after the incident, warning of a “heightened threat” of domestic violent extremism targeting candidates and election officials motivated by “ideological grievances.”
However, authorities probing the attempted murder attack on Mr. Pelosi informed reporters that a motive had not yet been discovered.
‘Paul Pelosi made a covert 911 call,’ according to reports. Mrs. Pelosi, who was in Washington DC at the time of the assault, flew back to visit her husband in the hospital.
Mr Pelosi was attacked in the early hours of Friday morning, according to a spokeswoman for the top Democrat, “by an assailant who acted with force, and threatened his life while demanding to see the Speaker”.
Officers responded to a report at roughly 02:27 local time (09:27 GMT) on Friday, according to San Francisco Police Chief William Scott.
They discovered Mr. Pelosi and the suspect squabbling over a hammer, which was wrested from Mr. Pelosi by the invader, who then viciously beat him with it.
Officers tackled and disarmed the suspect. According to law enforcement authorities, he sought to restrain Mr. Pelosi “until Nancy arrived home.” During the encounter, he allegedly said, “Where’s Nancy?”
According to Chief Scott, he is also charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, burglary, and many other offenses.
He claimed the culprit got entry to the four-bedroom Pelosi house in the affluent Pacific Heights neighborhood using a back door. A shattered glass door is shown in the footage at the residence.
The suspect is presently in the hospital, but authorities have refused to reveal any information regarding his health.
Mr. Pelosi told the burglar he needed to use the restroom before making a hidden 911 call on his mobile phone and leaving the line open, allowing a dispatcher to hear him chatting to the suspect.
Chief Scott verified that Mr Pelosi dialed 911 and that a quick-thinking emergency operator “read between the lines” and dispatched cops.
“This was not a random act,” stated the attack’s police head. “This was done on purpose.”
“Everyone should be disgusted by what happened this morning,” he continued.