There are Republicans currently in public office and running for office who have publicly called for violence towards Nancy Pelosi, the current Speaker of the House. Speaker Pelosi is second in the line of succession, and you better believe that she has very good protection around her, especially when she’s in DC. Apparently, that protection doesn’t extend to her husband Paul Pelosi though. Paul Pelosi was at the Pelosi family home in San Francisco on Friday morning when a man named David DePape broke into the home and called out for “Nancy” and repeatedly asked “Where’s Nancy?” The Speaker was in DC, but her husband was home. Paul Pelosi was able to talk his way out of the room and get into the bathroom, where he called 911. When the police arrived, they found DePape beating Paul Pelosi with a hammer.

Calling out for “Nancy,” an intruder who forced his way into the San Francisco home of the U.S. House speaker early Friday had a target in mind, authorities said, before he attacked her husband and fractured his skull with a hammer.

Paul Pelosi, 82, is recovering from surgery at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital “to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” said Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. He is expected to recover fully.

Although the attacker’s motive remains undetermined, the violence — 11 days ahead of the midterm election — has sparked alarm in part because of heightened concern about the safety of public officials at their homes and offices. Those worries have compounded in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, where Nancy Pelosi was one of the targets.

A source who was briefed on the Friday attack said the assailant shouted, “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” before confronting Paul Pelosi.

“Based on our investigation at this point … this was not a random act,” San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said during a news conference Friday evening. “This was intentional.”

At the start of the break-in, Paul Pelosi told the intruder that he had to use the bathroom, then made a surreptitious 911 call on his cellphone and left the line open, sources familiar with the attack told The Times. Dispatcher Heather Grimes could hear Pelosi talking to his attacker and alerted officers to the scene.

“It is really thanks to Mr. Pelosi having the ability to be able to make that call and truly the attention and instincts of that dispatcher to realize that something was wrong and to make the police call a priority,” San Francisco Dist. Atty. Brooke Jenkins told CNN, adding that officers got to the scene in two minutes.

[From The LA Times]

When DePape was handcuffed, he apparently sat down and said he was “waiting for Nancy.” The police took him in and booked him on an assortment of felony charges including breaking-and-entering, assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse (Paul Pelosi is 82). Within hours of the violent assault, people were already researching DePape’s social media footprint and big surprise, he has a history of being an antisemite, a bigot and a subscriber to far-right-wing conspiracies. He’s a QAnoner and a neo-Nazi type. The GOP absolutely has Paul Pelosi’s blood on their hands. I’d also like to see President Biden order heightened security for both Speaker Pelosi and her husband.

Photos courtesy of Image Press Agency/Image Press Agency/Avalon, jpistudios.com / JPI Studios / Avalon and Ron Sachs / Avalon.