Paul Pelosi was attacked in his home on Oct. 28 by David DePape. Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, when he was asleep in their San Francisco home. Pelosi obtained a skull fracture and several injuries to his hands and arms.  

The 42-year-old Canadian slammed his body through the window to gain entry. Outside the house, he left a bag filled with zip ties, gloves, and a journal. His original intention was to kidnap Nancy Pelosi and shatter her kneecaps. 

“If she were to tell DePape the ‘truth,’ he would let her go, and if she ‘lied,’ he was going to break her kneecaps,” stated the federal complaint. 

DePape woke up a sleeping Paul Pelosi, demanding “Where is Nancy?” around 2:30 a.m. 

Pelosi managed to call 911 after requesting to use the bathroom, where he had left his phone. This allowed him to be on the line and for the dispatcher to hear the conversations between Pelosi and DePape. 

San Francisco Police Chief William Scott stated the officers observed from outside the house when they arrived that Pelosi and DePape had a hand on a hammer. Then, DePape grabbed hold of the hammer and hit Pelosi in the head, knocking him out. 

“Our officers immediately tackled the suspect, disarmed him, took him into custody, requested emergency backup, and rendered medical aid,” Scott stated. 

Paul Pelosi was taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery for his fractured skull and other injuries. He was released from the hospital on Nov. 3 and is going through a slow recovery. 

Nancy Pelosi received the news of the attack in Washington D.C. by the capitol police. Immediately, she was transported to San Francisco.

According to CNN, DePape has been charged with crimes including assault, attempted murder, burglary, threatening the family member of a public official, and attempted kidnapping. The kidnapping charge can lead to a maximum of 20 years in prison. DePape pleads guilty to all counts. 

While the husband of the Speaker of the House, when Nancy Pelosi is not at the house, the security detail was not active, allowing the cameras to not be active at the time of the attack. But, security measures have been tightened since Pelosi returned home.

Nancy Pelosi’s spokesman David Hamill released a statement, stating: “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.”

Both parties Democrats and Republicans condemned the attack. However, conspiracies began to populate by the far-right regarding the attack and the attacker’s influence and motivation. 

DePape was discovered to have been positing “far-right views, including antisemitic tropes, false claims about the 2020 elections, and conspiracies about COVID vaccines,” stated NPR. 

Texas Senator Ted Cruz commented on how absurd it was that this attack was motivated by far-right ideologies. 

Erin Miller, manager of the Global Terrorism Database at the University of Maryland, commented on her concern that “conspiracies can be a path to radicalization, especially as the country heads into another polarized election” (NPR).