On Friday morning, Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was “violently assaulted” by an individual who broke into the couple’s San Francisco home. The attack, determined to be intentional, occurred in the early hours of the morning.

Officers responded to a priority well-being check at 2:27 a.m. local time, where they found both the suspect and Paul Pelosi struggling with one hand each on a hammer. According to San Francisco Police Chief William Scott, both men were instructed to drop the weapon. At this time, the suspect took the hammer from Pelosi and violently attacked him. In turn, officers tackled the suspect before disarming him. Both Paul Pelosi and the suspect were hospitalized after the incident.

82-year-old Pelosi was confirmed to be struck at least once, although the total number of times is unclear at this time. He underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and incurred “serious injuries” to his right arm and hands. While his injuries are noted as being “significant,” he is currently expected to make a full recovery.

During the home invasion, the intruder reportedly shouted “Where is Nancy?” and said that he was going to wait for her to return home. During the incident, Pelosi called 911, leaving the line open while he confronted the suspect. Reportedly talking in code, he was successful in indirectly alerting dispatchers that something was wrong without tipping off the intruder, leading to the well-being check.

During a press conference on Friday, Scott said “This was not a random act. This was intentional. And it is wrong…Our elected officials are here to do the business of their cities, their counties, their states and this nation. Their families don’t sign up for this, to be harmed…. And everybody should be disgusted about what happened this morning.”

The suspect, 42-year-old David DePape, allegedly entered the Pelosi household through a sliding glass door. On Twitter, DePape is described as “a far-right extremist and a nudist who sold handmade jewelry.” According to California State Senator Scott Wiener, the suspect also has ties to a Berkeley woman named Gypsy Taub, a nudist activist. Weiner said that Taub was “the ringleader and …extremely aggressive and creepy,” and noted “… I think he was one of the people in her work.”

Facebook disabled DePape’s profile soon after the attack occurred on Friday. At least two online blogs, with posts between 2007 and 2022, discussed topics such as “censorship,” “Big Brother,” and pedophiles. At this time, at least one link to what is thought to be an online blog under DePape’s name on WordPress.com has been suspended or archived in accordance with the website’s Terms of Service. A secondary blog on a different website, which includes antisemitic posts and calls for violence, was not taken down as of early Sunday morning.

DePape currently faces multiple felony charges, including attempted homicide and assault with a deadly weapon. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins tweeted Friday evening that the suspect is expected to be arraigned Tuesday.