The early Friday house invasion and attack on 82-year-old Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in their California home is a reminder of something we learned in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol: that the U.S. Capitol Police Department is grossly understaffed and disgracefully underfunded. The department, which is the first line of defense as members of the House and the Senate go about their business in Washington and in their home districts, is still understaffed, its chief said in August. Speaker Pelosi was reportedly the person Friday morning’s attacker was seeking. But she wasn’t home, and her security personnel had traveled with her. That the home of the speaker, who’s second in the line of presidential succession, had no fixed police presence is confounding.
That the home of the speaker, who’s second in the line of presidential succession, had no fixed police presence is confounding.
On Monday afternoon, the Justice Department filed charges against 42-year-old David DePape on allegations of attempted kidnapping and assault with intent to retaliate against a federal official by threatening or injuring a family member. In California state court, he’s expected to face charges that include attempted homicide, first-degree burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with serious bodily injury, elder abuse and threatening a public official or family member.
