Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), called 911 and spoke in code to a dispatcher while an intruder was inside his house Friday morning, law enforcement officials said.
Paul Pelosi, who was attacked with a hammer by a man who was looking for the speaker, allegedly told the intruder that he needed to go to the restroom, where he had his phone charging, an unnamed law enforcement officer told CNN.
San Francisco Police Department Chief Bill Scott did not confirm that Pelosi was talking in code to the 911 operator but credited the dispatcher for understanding that Paul Pelosi needed help.
“Based on her experience and her intuition, she basically figured out that there was something more to this incident than what she was being told,” Scott said of the dispatcher. “Her actions, in my opinion, resulted in both a higher priority dispatch and a faster police response. I think this was life-saving.”
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The alleged assailant was identified as David Depape, 42, and was not previously known by the United States Capitol Police or on any watch lists, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said. Depape, however, had posted memes and conspiracy theories on Facebook about COVID-19 vaccines, the 2020 election, and the Jan. 6 attack. Police officers who arrived on the scene early Friday morning caught the attack on their body cameras, but the footage has not been released so far.
“This was not a random act. This was intentional. And it’s wrong,” Scott told reporters Friday night, claiming families of elected officials “don’t sign up for this — to be harmed. And it is wrong. And everybody should be disgusted about what happened this morning.”
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Police are conducting an investigation into the suspect’s motive. Paul Pelosi suffered a fracture to his skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hand. He was transported to the hospital following the attack and underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture but is expected to make a full recovery. Nancy Pelosi arrived at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital at 4 p.m. PDT but was in Washington, D.C., at the time of the attack.
