A man attacked the husband of Democratic congresswoman Nancy Pelosi on Friday morning, police said, but the alleged assailant was actually looking for the US leader, another illustration of the dangers hanging over elected officials two weeks before the US election. mid-term.
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Around 2:30 a.m. Friday, the suspect entered the couple’s home in San Francisco and “viciously attacked” Paul Pelosi with a hammer, hitting him at least once, said the chief of police of this metropolis of California, Bill Scott.
This man was looking for Nancy Pelosi and “threatened with death” her husband, said later the spokesman for the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Drew Hammill.
Ms. Pelosi, 82, was in Washington at the time of the attack.
Paul Pelosi, also in his 80s, “underwent successful surgery to treat a fractured skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” added Drew Hammill.
Doctors “believe he will make a full recovery,” he said.
The motivations of the 42-year-old suspect, who was still in the hospital on Friday evening, remain to be clarified. One thing is certain, it was not a “random” attack but an “intentional” act, confirmed Bill Scott.
“Everyone should be disgusted by what happened this morning,” said the police chief during a press conference.
The entire American political class strongly condemned this attack. Republican Senate Opposition Leader Mitch McConnell said he was “horrified”, while President Joe Biden denounced “despicable” aggression.
There is “no place” for political violence in America, hammered the Democrat during a campaign trip to Philadelphia. “Enough is enough.”
Violence «atroce»
In recent months, many elected officials have warned against the resurgence of violence targeting the American political class, Republican Senator Susan Collins declaring that she would not be “surprised” if an elected official or senator “was killed”.
“What was originally only aggressive phone calls now translates into threats and real violence,” assured the 69-year-old elected official, after an individual broke a window in her home, in Maine.
“This violence is terrifying”, denounced Friday the elected progressive Pramila Jayapal, who had herself had to call the authorities when a man had gone to his home several times in July, uttering insults with a weapon at the belt.
Acts of violence against American elected officials are not new. In January 2011, Democrat Gabby Giffords was nearly killed after being shot in the head during a meeting with citizens in Tucson. But according to Capitol Police, threats against members of Congress have more than doubled since 2017, when Donald Trump was inaugurated.
Experts are particularly concerned about attacks from far-right groups. Several members of these militias are accused of having heavily armed themselves to attack the Capitol in order to keep Donald Trump in power on January 6, 2021.
During this cold winter day, thousands of supporters of the former president had plunged the capital of the United States into chaos, forcing the elected officials to evacuate the hemicycle of the House of Representatives by crawling, gas mask on the head.
Several demonstrators then broke into Nancy Pelosi’s office and marched through the halls of Congress, shouting, “Where are you Nancy?”.