Suspected attacker of Paul Pelosi identified, will be charged with attempted homicide

Police block off area around Pelosi home

SAN FRANCISCO — Law enforcement had the area around the Pelosi home blocked off with yellow tape Friday morning and at least a dozen police vehicles.

Agents wearing FBI jackets and local police uniforms criss-crossed the broad street in front of the home, which sits near the top of a hill in the wealthy Pacific Heights neighborhood.

Traffic was slightly disrupted as people in Teslas, Mercedes, BMWs and Toyota Priuses crept past the police tape to get a look, and a helicopter circled overhead.

SF police identify Paul Pelosi’s attacker as David DePape

Police identified the man who assaulted Paul Pelosi as David DePape, 42.

He’s being hit with numerous charges, including attempted homicide and elder abuse. The motive is “still being determined,” San Francisco police chief William Scott told reporters in a brief news conference.

Scott said Paul Pelosi and the suspect were both holding a hammer when police arrived at the home shortly before 2:30 a.m. PT. “The suspect pulled the hammer away from Pelosi and violently assaulted him with it” before officers tackled him, Scott said.

Attack puts spotlight on U.S. Capitol security threats

The violent assault on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, could draw greater attention to security threats on Capitol Hill.

Paul Pelosi was attacked at his home in California, authorities said. But according to statistics from the U.S. Capitol Police in June, security threats are rising against members of Congress.

The USCP Threat Assessment Team saw a 144% increase in new cases between 2017 to 2021 — from 3,939 in 2017 to 9,625 in 2021. The first three months of 2022 saw roughly 1,820 cases opened by that team.

NBC News has requested updated statistics.

Biden ‘praying’ for Paul Pelosi, White House says

The White House said Friday that President Joe Biden spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi following the attack on her husband.

“This morning he called Speaker Pelosi to express his support after this horrible attack. He is also very glad that a full recovery is expected,” the White House said in a statement. It added that Biden is “praying for Paul Pelosi and for Speaker Pelosi’s whole family.”

“The President continues to condemn all violence, and asks that the family’s desire for privacy be respected,” the White House said.

Senate leaders decry the violence

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., condemned the assault on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul.

Schumer, one of the House Speaker’s closest working partners in Washington, blasted the attack on Paul Pelosi as a “dastardly act” and said he expressed his “deepest concern and heartfelt wishes” to the Pelosi family Friday morning.

McConnell tweeted that he was “horrified and disgusted” by the news. He added that he was “grateful to hear” Paul Pelosi was expected to make a full recovery, “and that law enforcement including our stellar Capitol Police are on the case.”

San Francisco police to hold news conference soon

San Francisco’s chief of police, William Scott, is expected to address the media soon on the attack, according to police.

Pelosi’s husband attacked by someone searching for her: sources

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was hospitalized Friday after a home intruder “violently assaulted” him with a hammer, according to the Democratic leader’s office and two sources briefed on the incident.

But the suspect was really searching for the House Speaker, who was not there at the time, two sources told NBC News.

According to the sources, the intruder confronted Paul Pelosi and shouted: “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” — an echo of the chants that rang through the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters attempted to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.

Paul Pelosi was severely beaten but he is expected to make a full recovery, a spokesman for the California Democrat said.