WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (AP): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said her husband, Paul Pelosi, was released from the hospital on Thursday after his treatment for injuries from a violent assault last week in which he was attacked with a hammer.
Pelosi said, “Paul remains under doctors’ care as he continues to progress on a long recovery process and convalescence. He is now home.”
Law enforcement officers who responded to the break-in early last Friday witnessed Paul Pelosi being struck in the head with the hammer at least once, according to court documents. Officials said the assault was captured on the officers’ body cameras.
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Pelosi was taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Speaker Pelosi said her husband was grateful to the 911 operator who directed police to the family residence, emergency responders and the entire hospital staff for “their excellent and compassionate life-saving treatment.”
“The Pelosi family is thankful for the beautiful outpouring of love, support and prayers from around the world,” she said.
Paul Pelosi’s release from the hospital comes as a federal official says the Canadian man accused of breaking into their home and attacking him should have been flagged by immigration officials and blocked from getting back into the U.S. after overstaying his authorized entry more than two decades ago.
David DePape, 42, legally entered the United States in 2000 and later left the country and returned a few times, including entering in March 2008 at San Diego’s San Ysidro border crossing, said a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
Most Canadians are not required to obtain a visa to enter the U.S. as tourists and can stay for up to six months. The official said it was unclear why U.S. authorities admitted DePape after he overstayed his entry in 2000.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to questions about DePape’s entry to the United States after he violated immigration law. It acknowledged in a statement that DePape was allowed into San Diego from Tijuana on March 8, 2008, but didn’t address any other entries.
San Francisco police said DePape confronted Paul Pelosi in the family’s Pacific Heights home Oct. 28 and demanded to know where the House Speaker was. DePape pleaded not guilty to state charges on Tuesday and was ordered held without bail. His public defender, Adam Lipson, said he looks forward to providing him with a “vigorous legal defense.”
DePape faces state charges of attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse. He also faces federal charges including attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official. His state case will continue Friday, though the defendant will not appear in the courtroom. An arraignment on federal charges has not been scheduled.
In the state court filing, prosecutors detailed the attack in stark terms, saying Paul Pelosi, 82, was knocked unconscious by the hammer attack and woke up in a pool of his own blood.
