Attacker Paul Pelosi was wearing a harness: AP source

WASHINGTON (AP) – A man accused of attacking the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was wearing a harness when he broke into the couple’s San Francisco home, according to a person briefed on the investigation, which is the latest parallel to Capitol riot from January 6, 2021

The person was not authorized to discuss Pelosi’s case publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Sunday.

The attack on the 82-year-old husband of Democratic Party leader Paul Pelosi less than two weeks before Elections on November 8 which will determine control of Congress as well as key state and local offices, was a disturbing reminder of the nation’s toxic political climate. with threats to public officials at a high levelMembers of Congress were urged to bring in additional security, including increased police patrols in their districts.

US Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Munger said in a memo to lawmakers over the weekend that the attack “is a grim reminder of the threats elected officials and families will face in 2022.”

San Francisco police said the attack on Paul Pelosi was intentional. Authorities said the suspect, identified as David DePape, 42, confronted Paul Pelosi at the family’s Pacific Heights home on Friday and, according to the AP, demanded to know, “Where’s Nancy?”

The two men struggled over a hammer before officers who responded to a 911 call to the home saw DePape hit Paul Pelosi at least once, police said. DePape was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, elder abuse and burglary. Prosecutors plan to file charges Monday and expect to be arraigned Tuesday.

Horrible echoes of the January 6 riots were evident in the incident at Pelosi’s home.

Demonstrators who mobbed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory over Donald Trump roamed the halls and shouted menacingly, demanding, “Where’s Nancy?” Some of the besieged were seen inside the Capitol carrying fasteners. CNN first reported on the presence of buckles on the suspect in the attack on Paul Pelosi.

Nancy Pelosi was in Washington when her husband was attacked at home. Soon she returned to San Francisco, where her husband was hospitalized. He underwent surgery for a fractured skull and suffered other injuries to his hands and arms, her office said.

“Our children, our grandchildren and I are heartbroken and traumatized by the life-threatening attack on our dad,” she said in letter late on Saturday to colleagues. “We are grateful for the quick response of law enforcement and emergency services, as well as the life-saving medical care he received.”

Paul Pelosi remains hospitalized and “continues to improve,” she told colleagues.

As Election Day nears, and Trump relentlessly touts claims that he’s not losing to Biden in 2020, federal agencies warned Friday that domestic extremists fueled by electoral lies, “pose an increased threat” to the midterm elections. The Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies said the greatest danger was posed by “lone individuals who use election-related issues to justify violence.”

Biden and other officials, Democrats and Republicans, condemned the attack on Paul Pelosi and said violence has no place in American politics.

“Enough is enough,” Biden said on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania on Friday night.

Trump called the attack on Paul Pelosi “a terrible thing” in an interview recorded Friday by the conservative Spanish-language network Americano Media, but the former president also tried to link it to crime in US cities.

For years, Republicans have tried to make Pelosi the boogeyman companyusing the 82-year-old as a recurring caricature in countless anti-Democrat ads, including many now airing in races across the country during a hostile election season.

Rona McDaniel, head of the Republican National Committee, said Sunday that it was “unfair” to blame the Republican Party for creating the political climate that could have been the breeding ground for such an attack.

“You can’t say that people who are saying, ‘Let’s fire Pelosi’ or ‘Let’s take back the House,’ are saying go, do violence,” she told “Fox News Sunday.”

During an interview Sunday, House GOP campaign manager Tom Emmer of Minnesota was asked about a tweet promoting his own video of himself shooting a gun at an indoor target.

“I enjoyed exercising my Second Amendment rights,” Emmer tweeted, mentioning that he was with two Republican House candidates. The video includes images and sounds of a rifle being fired. The tweet was posted on Wednesday, before the attack on Paul Pelosi, which read: “13 days to make history. Let’s #FirePelosi.”

Emmer told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he was just “exercising our Second Amendment rights, having fun.”

Both McDaniel and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California said whoever attacked Paul Pelosi was “crazy.”

Speaking on Fox News’ “Futures Sunday Morning,” McCarthy said violence or the threat of violence “has no place in our society.”

Five years ago, a leftist activist opened fire Republicans as they practiced for the annual charity baseball game. Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana was critically injured. In 2011 then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffordsof Arizona, was shot in the head at an event outside a grocery store in Tucson.

Elon Musk jumped into the debate on Sunday tweet, then delete, link to a third-party website with an unsubstantiated rumor of an attack on Speaker Pelosi’s husband. Musk’s tweet, sent to his million followers, comes days after he bought Twitter, sparking fears that the social media platform will no longer seek to curb misinformation and hate speech.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate Security Oversight Committee in the Capitol, said lawmakers are considering new measures, including removing their personal information from the Internet.

However, Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, noted that Nancy Pelosi “has been abused by criminals for years, and to my great surprise, it has gone viral and violent.”

“I think it’s very important that people realize that it’s not just this horrific attack, but that we see violence throughout our political system,” Klobuchar said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”