US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, is recovering from surgery after a home attack by a hammer-wielding intruder.
Mr. Pelosi, 82, suffered a fractured skull and severe injuries to his right arm and hand.
The suspect is said to have demanded to see Mrs Pelosi after breaking into her San Francisco home.
President Joe Biden saw the attack as politically motivated and called it “abhorrent”.
A 42-year-old man has been arrested on charges including attempted murder. No trigger is known.
Mrs. Pelosi — who was on the other side of the country in Washington, D.C., at the time of the attack — flew back to visit her husband in the hospital.
A spokesman for the senior Democrat said Mr Pelosi was attacked on Friday morning by “an assailant who acted with force, and threatened his life while demanding to see the speaker”.
Mrs. Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hamill, said she was admitted to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital for surgery and that doctors expected her to make a full recovery.
At a news conference, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said officers responded to the call around 02:27 local time (09:27 GMT) on Friday.
They found Mr. Pelosi and the suspect – named by police as David DePep – fighting over a hammer, but it was wrested from Mr. Pelosi by the intruder, who violently attacked him with it. Mr. Pelosi was hit at least once, the police said.
The suspect was tackled and officers disarmed him. Law enforcement sources told JEE News that he tried to tie up Mr. Pelosi “until Nancy went home.” He allegedly yelled “Where’s Nancy at?” during the incident.
He also faces charges of possession of a deadly weapon, burglary and several other crimes, Chief Scott said.
He said the suspect gained access through the rear entrance of the four-bedroom Pelosi home in the upscale Pacific Heights neighborhood. Footage shows a broken glass door at the property.
Chief Scott told a news conference Friday evening that the alleged intruder is currently in the hospital, though he declined to provide details about his medical condition.
At the beginning of the break-in, Mr. Pelosi told the intruder he needed to use the bathroom, then made a secret 911 call on his cellphone and left the line open, prompting a dispatcher to identify him as a suspect. Heard talking to JEE reports.
Chief Scott confirmed that it was Mr. Pelosi who called the police and that a quick-thinking emergency dispatcher was able to “read between the lines” and dispatch officers.
The police chief of the attack said that it was not a random act. “It was done on purpose.”
He added: “Everyone should be disgusted by what happened this morning.”
