Biden: Attacks on Pelosi's husband "vile" have no place in America
US President Joe Biden on Friday condemned the "despicable" assault on the husband of Democratic Congressional leader Nancy Pelosi.
Biden said during a campaign tour in Philadelphia that there was "no place" for political violence in the United States.
An intruder attacked Pelosi's husband with a hammer after breaking into the couple's California home on Friday, police said.
"This is despicable. It has no place in America. There is so much violence and political violence and so much hate and so much vitriol," the US president added.
Biden noted that the attacker shouted "Where's Nancy?", similar to what some of the protesters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to a number of local media outlets.
Fearing that this would affect the political climate, Biden called on officials to "oppose" this violence, regardless of their affiliation.
For his part, a spokesman for the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Drew Hamill, said that the man who attacked the husband of Nancy Pelosi was actually looking for the Democratic leader.
US media reported that the suspect shouted "Where's Nancy?"
During the attack, suggesting that his motives were political, but San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said the motive has not yet been determined.
Police said officers arrested the attacker at the couple's home as he and Paul Pelosi fought over a hammer.
The American official was in Washington at the time.
"When the officers arrived at the scene, they saw an adult and Paul, Mrs. Pelosi's husband," Scott told reporters.
"They saw Mr. Pelosi and a suspect holding a hammer. The suspect managed to pull the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and violently assaulted him."
Scott named the assailant as 42-year-old David Debaby, adding that he will be charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and other crimes.
One thing is certain, Scott said, that the attack was not "random" but "deliberate," adding, "Everyone should be disgusted by what happened."
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