Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake joked about last Friday’s attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s (D-California) husband, Paul, at an event on Monday.
“It is not impossible to protect our kids at school. They act like it is,” Lake, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said. “Nancy Pelosi, well, she’s got protection when she’s in DC. Apparently, her house doesn’t have a lot of protection.”
The crowd responded to the joke positively.
Last week, a man identified as 42-year-old David DePape entered the Pelosi’s San Francisco home calling out for Nancy.
She was in Washington, D.C., at the time and when he couldn’t find her, he attacked Paul with a hammer. His plan had originally been to kidnap the House Speaker and hold her hostage, breaking her kneecaps if she lied to him. Paul is expected to make recovery from a skull fracture, and injuries to his arm and hands.
DePape had a past of supporting far-right conspiracy theories, and people who know him described him as “odd.”
According to social media, it is likely that he bought into the theory that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump. It is still unknown what the motivation was for him to take violent action. He is currently facing charges of attempted homicide, elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon and other felonies.
Lake will be facing off against Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs.
