Nancy Pelosi: Suspect charged after attack on top Democrat's husband

A man has been charged with attempting to kidnap senior US politician Nancy Pelosi and assaulting her husband.

The 42-year-old is accused of breaking into the couple's San Francisco home early on Friday and assaulting Paul Pelosi, 82, with a hammer.

He had been searching for the top Democrat and reportedly shouted "where is Nancy?" while inside the property.

The motive is being investigated but police say it was "not a random act".

The Department of Justice charged the suspect, who has been named as David DePape, with two violations of federal law on Monday. These included one count of assaulting a family member of a US official in retaliation for the performance of their duties, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years.

He is also charged with the attempted kidnap of Mrs Pelosi, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years.

The suspect had a roll of tape, white rope, a second hammer and zip ties in his possession when he was arrested, the justice department said. He had planned to hold Mrs Pelosi hostage and was going to break "her kneecaps" if she "lied" to him, according to court documents.

But Mrs Pelosi, 82, was on the other side of the country in Washington DC at the time of the assault.

She flew back to see her husband in hospital, where he underwent successful surgery for a skull fracture and injuries to his hands and right arm. The venture capitalist - who has been married to Mrs Pelosi since 1963 - is expected to make a full recovery, her office said in a statement.

"Our children, our grandchildren and I are heartbroken and traumatised by the life-threatening attack," Mrs Pelosi said in a statement over the weekend.

As well as Mrs Pelosi - who as speaker of the House of Representatives is second in line to the presidency - the suspect had a list of other people he wanted to target and may have been planning further attacks, law enforcement sources told the BBC'S US partner CBS News.

The suspect is being held in a San Francisco jail and could also face separate charges from state police over the assault.

Officers were first called to the couple's home at 02:27 local time (09:27 GMT) on Friday. Images of the four-bedroom property in the Pacific Heights neighbourhood showed the rear glass doors - where police say the intruder gained entry - had been shattered.

At the start of the break-in, Mr Pelosi told the intruder he needed to use the bathroom then made a 911 call on his mobile phone.

Police found Mr Pelosi and the suspect struggling over a hammer, but it was wrested from him by the intruder who violently assaulted him with it. The suspect was then tackled and disarmed by officers.

The attack has raised fears of political violence less than two weeks before the midterm election on 8 November that will determine control of Congress.

Hours after the attack, the US government distributed a bulletin to law enforcement across the nation warning of a "heightened threat" of domestic violent extremism against candidates and election workers driven by individuals with "ideological grievances".

A blog, website and social media accounts under the name of the suspect seen by the BBC contained anti-Semitic memes, Holocaust denial, references to far-right websites and conspiracy theories such as QAnon.

He also posted debunked allegations of election fraud as well as a host of far-right and extremist talking points.