Paul Pelosi released from hospital after hammer attack

A man in a suit talking with another man in a mask in a lobby area

Nov. 3, 2022 Updated 4:52 PM PT

Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was released from the hospital Thursday, six days after he was severely beaten by an intruder inside the couple’s San Francisco home.

In a statement, Speaker Pelosi said her husband “remains under doctors’ care as he continues to progress on a long recovery process and convalescence.”

Paul Pelosi is recovering from what officials said was a successful surgery at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital “to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands.”

Pelosi was attacked when an intruder broke into the couple’s Pacific Heights home sometime around 2 a.m. last Friday.

Federal prosecutors said David DePape entered the Pelosis’ home by smashing a rear glass door with a hammer, then went to the second floor. There, he found Paul Pelosi, 82, sleeping, and reportedly shouted, “Where’s Nancy?” repeatedly.

Paul Pelosi was alone at the time of the break-in; the speaker was in Washington with her protective detail.

Realizing the potential danger, Paul Pelosi managed to make a quick, surreptitious phone call to 911 and left the line open, authorities said. A 911 dispatcher realized something was seriously wrong and immediately sent police to the address. Officers were told there was a man inside the home named David, whom Pelosi did not know.

DePape has been charged with attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder and threats to a public official and their family. He faces 13 years to life in prison if convicted of all charges filed against him by the San Francisco district attorney’s office. He also faces federal assault and kidnapping charges.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed Thursday that DePape is also in the U.S. illegally and could be deported to Canada.

DePape grew up in British Columbia and moved to California more than 20 years ago, according to a family member who spoke with The Times.

Records pulled by ICE found that DePape entered the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego as a temporary visitor in March 2008. Canadians who enter with that status generally do not require visas, officials said; the U.S. generally allows them to stay as temporary visitors for six months.

On Tuesday, ICE officials issued an immigration detainer on DePape with the San Francisco County Jail, where he is currently being held without bail. Under the detainer, San Francisco law enforcement is to notify ICE before he is released so the federal agency can take custody of him.

ICE issues detainers against people facing criminal charges when the agency has probable cause to believe they can be deported.

He also had other targets in mind — including a Bay Area professor and prominent state and federal politicians and their families — when he broke into the Pelosis’ home, prosecutors said.

The attack raised questions about the security measures taken to protect the speaker. U.S. Capitol Police said Wednesday that security cameras for the Pelosis’ San Francisco residence were not being monitored on the night of the violent home invasion.

Capitol Police said in a statement that cameras “are used to actively monitor the speaker’s San Francisco residence around the clock when she is there,” but acknowledged that when she is in Washington, D.C., with her security detail — as she was during Friday’s break-in — the “cameras were not actively monitored.”

Federal prosecutors allege that DePape was hoping to find Speaker Pelosi at the house. They say he intended to kidnap her and break her kneecaps, and that he called her the “leader of the pack” of lies he said were told by the Democratic Party.

Police have not offered a motive for the attack. But San Francisco Dist. Atty. Brooke Jenkins said Monday that based on DePape’s statements to police and his comments to Paul Pelosi at the scene, it “was politically motivated.”

A Times review of DePape’s online accounts showed that he has been involved in the world of far-right conspiracies, antisemitism and hate.

In a personal blog DePape maintained, post titles include “Manipulation of History,” “Holohoax” and “It’s OK to be white.” He mentions 4Chan, a favorite message board of the far right. He posted videos about conspiracies involving COVID-19 vaccines and claiming the war in Ukraine was a ploy for Jewish people to buy land.

DePape’s screeds also include posts about the unfounded QAnon theory that former President Trump is at war with a cabal of Satan-worshiping Democratic elites who run a child sex ring and control the world. In an Aug. 23 entry titled “Q,” DePape wrote: “Either Q is Trump himself or Q is the deep state moles within Trumps inner circle.”

Adam Lipson, DePape’s public defender, said his client’s “vulnerability to misinformation” will be examined as part of his defense.