According to a statement from Drew Hammill, the speaker’s spokesman, a burglar entered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home early on Friday and “violently beat” her husband, Paul Pelosi.
Where is Nancy, where is Nancy? the attacker said as she approached Speaker Pelosi’s husband, according to a person briefed on the event and quoted by NPR.
The statement from Speaker Pelosi’s office said, “Mr. Pelosi was rushed to the hospital, where he is receiving outstanding medical care and is expected to make a complete recovery.”
Pelosi, who follows the vice president in line for the presidency, was not home during the break-in and attack.
The intrusion into her house raises major concerns about the security of the property of one of the nation’s most influential politicians.
The FBI and the San Francisco Police are working together on a joint investigation into the break-in with the help of the U.S. Capitol Police.
A team of investigators from the Department’s Threat Assessment Section was simultaneously sent from the East Coast to assist the FBI and the San Francisco Police with a joint investigation, according to a statement from the Capitol Police. “Special agents with the USCP’s California Field Office quickly arrived on scene,” the statement said.
Following the incident, President Biden contacted Pelosi early on Friday to express his support.
According to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “The President continues to condemn all violence and requests that the family’s desire for privacy be honoured.”
Political personalities and their families are being threatened more frequently at the time of the incident.
Congressmen have greater resources and money to defend their residences, but some have pushed for extra security due to the increase in threats.
This summer, police detained a guy in front of the residence of Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican from New York, was assaulted by a guy at a campaign event in July when he was running for governor. The congressman was attempted to be stabbed, but Zeldin was not gravely hurt.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a vocal opponent of former President Donald Trump, disclosed voicemails that threatened him and his family and were left at his Capitol Hill office during the summer.
One caller claimed, “We know where your family is and we’re going to get you.
After sending threatening voicemails to Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, the two Alaskan Republican senators, in April, an Alaskan man was given a 32-month jail term.
The individual wrote to Murkowski inquiring as to if the senator had seen what a “.50 calibre shell” does to a “human skull” and threatening to discover all of her assets and destroy all she owns and hopes to obtain.
A New Hampshire man who threatened to hang congressional representatives who backed Trump was given a 33-month jail term in December.
Legislators respond to the assault
Immediately after the incident, legislators on all sides of the aisle expressed their outrage and solidarity for the Pelosi family.
Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate and the minority leader in Kentucky, tweeted that he was “horrified and sickened” by the attack and was “grateful to hear that Paul is on pace to make a complete recovery.”
The incident was described as a “dastardly act” by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, who also said he talked with Speaker Pelosi on Friday morning to express his “deepest concern and sincere wishes.”
After learning of the attack on Speaker Pelosi’s husband Paul, GOP Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana said he was “disgusted,” adding, “Let’s be clear: violence has no place in this nation.”
Scalise has experienced political violence firsthand. He was shot in 2017 by a shooter who chose to target a congressional baseball practise. Scalise had many operations to recover and remained in a serious state for days.
The incident was described as “horrific” by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who also said: “We can have our political differences, but violence is always wrong & inexcusable.”
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