Paul Pelosi is doing better after attacking him. His tormentor is soon to be charged with attempted murder. Meanwhile, a public battle is raging - between declarations on the one hand and conspiracies on the other. Right in the middle of the new Twitter owner Elon Musk.
A few days before the US general election, the husband of top politician Nancy Pelosi was attacked and seriously injured in the couple's home. In the midst of the aggressively conducted election campaign, a man broke into the house in San Francisco at night and demanded the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The 82-year-old Democrat was not at home. When police arrived, the attacker hit her husband, Paul Pelosi, who is the same age, with a hammer. The attack increased fears of politically motivated violence in the United States.
President Joe Biden drew a connection to Republican rhetoric surrounding predecessor Donald Trump. Nancy Pelosi is number three in the US political hierarchy after Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Democrat is guarded by bodyguards around the clock - but there is no protection for the families of prominent members of Congress. In view of the heated mood in polarized US politics for years, experts have criticized this.
After the attack on Friday night, Paul Pelosi had to be operated on for a fractured skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hands, a spokesman for the Speaker of Parliament said. However, doctors expect that he will make a full recovery. Nancy Pelosi said her husband's condition was improving. "Our children, grandchildren and I are heartbroken and traumatized by the life threatening assault on our dad," she wrote.
The 42-year-old attacker was arrested. According to media reports, he called out during the attack: "Where's Nancy?" He is also said to have planned to tie up Paul Pelosi and await the politician's return. However, Nancy Pelosi was in Washington. According to police, her husband managed to call 911. After that he was not able to report on the attack himself - but the employee of the emergency hotline overheard his conversation with the attacker and sent the police. According to police, the attacker was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse and burglary, among other crimes.
The public prosecutor's office now wants to bring charges quickly. Prosecutor Brooke Jenkins said the 42-year-old is expected to appear in court on Tuesday. She wanted to hold the alleged perpetrator "accountable for his heinous crimes". The authorities initially gave no information on the alleged motive. However, US media found his online profiles, according to which he was interested in conspiracy theories, misinformation about the alleged danger of corona vaccines and Trump's lies about fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Nancy Pelosi is a constant target of verbal attacks from the political right. Trump keeps calling her "Crazy Nancy" and has made her a hate figure for his supporters over the years. Trump fans had also been looking for Pelosi during the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Her office was vandalized. Meanwhile, the speaker of the parliament tried to organize the protection of the building from a safe place. Biden also emphasized at the weekend that the attackers in the Capitol, among other things, "Where are you, Nancy?" shouted. He blamed Republicans for brutalizing the political climate. "What makes us think that a party can talk about stolen elections and that Covid is a lie - and that won't affect people who might not be as balanced." This talk has to stop. "There is too much political violence, too much hatred."
Threats against politicians and their family members have been increasing in the United States for some time. In addition to Democrats, Republicans who do not follow the Trump line are often affected. In recent months, people have been spotted with guns near the homes of Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In 2017, a man shot at a congressman's softball practice, injuring influential Republican Steve Scalise. In 2020, several men plotted the kidnapping of Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. In the current election campaign for the congressional elections on November 8, radical Republicans specifically attack the opposing candidates in commercials because of their alleged proximity to Pelosi. With that, TV viewers see clips demonizing Pelosi every day. In 2021, the couple's house had already been covered in graffiti. Unknown people placed a pig's head on the sidewalk. On Friday, Trump's Vice President Mike Pence and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell condemned the attack.
Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a campaign appearance referring to Pelosi: "There is no room for violence anywhere - but we will send her back to be with him in California." The Republicans are given a good chance of regaining a majority in the House of Representatives in the election.
New Twitter owner Elon Musk, meanwhile, has spread to his 112 million followers the conspiracy theory, contradicting police statements, that Paul Pelosi was injured in an argument with a man he let in himself. A few hours later, the Musk tweet was deleted. Musk had claimed before the purchase that Twitter restricts freedom of speech too much. This raised concerns that there might be more hate speech and a more aggressive tone on the platform with him.
