US authorities say they are still investigating a motive for the attack in the early hours of the morning.
A hammer-wielding man attacked US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband during a break-in at the couple's San Francisco home, authorities have said, in an assault that raised fears about political violence ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections.
Her husband, Paul Pelosi, 82, was taken to hospital on Friday as several US media outlets reported that he was undergoing brain surgery. However, Pelosi's office said he was expected to make full recovery.
The man arrested at the scene, David Depape, 42, will be charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon and several other criminal charges, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said.
The Democratic speaker of the US House of Representatives, who is second in the succession line of the US presidency, was in Washington with her protective detail at the time of the assault, according to the Capitol Police.
Authorities said they were still investigating a motive for the attack in the early hours of the morning.
CNN, citing a source, reported that the assailant shouted "Where is Nancy?" before the attack and told police he was "waiting for Nancy" when they arrived at the scene.
It was unclear how the intruder got into the three-storey red brick townhouse in the affluent Pacific Heights neighbourhood. Aerial photos showed shattered glass on a door at the rear of the house. Streets around the residence were closed off on Friday morning.
Scott said police were dispatched to the house at 0927 GMT, where they encountered Depape and Paul Pelosi struggling over a hammer, before Depape pulled the hammer away and attacked Pelosi.
Police disarmed and arrested Depape and took both men to a hospital for treatment, Scott said.
He declined to answer questions and said police would provide more details later.
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Warning of attacks
President Joe Biden called Pelosi to express his support, according to White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy also said he reached out to Pelosi, while Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he was "horrified and disgusted" by the attack.
The Capitol Police, responsible for protecting Congress, said it was working with the FBI and San Francisco police on the investigation.
New York City police warned on Thursday that extremists could target politicians, political events and polling sites ahead of the midterm elections.
Republicans have been campaigning on concerns about violent crime, as well as inflation and other quality-of-life issues. San Francisco's crime rate in 2021 was 1.5 times the national average, according to several crime-tracking websites.
In a politically polarised climate, threats against Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been on the rise. Capitol Police said they investigated 9,625 incidents in 2021, nearly a threefold increase from 2017.
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