Progressives who mocked Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) after he was assaulted in 2018 expressed heartfelt sympathy for Paul Pelosi after he was attacked on Friday by an individual who invaded his home and reportedly beat him with a hammer.
Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), was hospitalized early Friday morning after an assailant broke into their San Francisco home, according to his wife’s spokesman. As many leftists took to social media and expressed their outrage at the attack, other users noted that many of those same leftists had celebrated when Rand Paul suffered an attack from an enraged neighbor four years ago, which led to six broken ribs and damage to his lungs.
Majid M. Padellan, who runs the Twitter account Brooklyn Dad Defiant, quipped in 2020 that no one has “ever mistaken Rand Paul for an actual United States Senator,” including his “neighbor.” He also said that Dr. Anthony Fauci, with whom Paul has sparred on multiple occasions regarding the federal government’s COVID response, “could probably pick up where Rand Paul’s neighbor left off, and nobody would mind at all.”
Yet Padellan declared on Friday that the “violent, heinous attack on Paul Pelosi, the Speaker’s husband, needs to be denounced in the strongest possible terms BY BOTH SIDES.”
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) October 28, 2022
John Pavlovitz, who wrote a book entitled “If God is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk” and has “love your neighbor: get vaccinated” in his Twitter bio, remarked last year that he does not “condone or approve of Rand Paul’s neighbor,” but sure does “understand him.” He has tweeted mockingly about the attack on Paul multiple times over the past four years, yet on Friday he said in a since-deleted tweet that “the attack on Paul Pelosi is the direct result of Fox News’ and the GOP’s purposefully irresponsible rhetoric.”
“It will continue to get worse and if it gets control of Congress, our nation will be unrecognizable,” added the professed Christian. “We need to vote these monsters into oblivion.”
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) October 28, 2022
Rand Paul himself noticed that Christine Pelosi, the daughter of Nancy and her husband, said on social media two years ago that “Rand Paul’s neighbor was right” before the post was removed by Twitter. “No one deserves to be assaulted. Unlike Nancy Pelosi’s daughter who celebrated my assault, I condemn this attack and wish Mr. Pelosi a speedy recovery,” the lawmaker said on Friday.
No one deserves to be assaulted. Unlike Nancy Pelosi’s daughter who celebrated my assault, I condemn this attack and wish Mr. Pelosi a speedy recovery. https://t.co/2LxIlbIYQP
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 28, 2022
The 42-year-old assailant who invaded the Pelosi home was placed in custody, while Paul Pelosi was taken to the hospital and is expected to fully recover. The U.S. Capitol Police, FBI, and San Francisco Police Department are conducting a joint investigation into the attack, according to the Capitol Police, which said in a statement that staff from the field office “quickly arrived on scene.”
Although a motive for the incident is not yet known, the multi-million-dollar Pelosi residence has previously been the target of political protests. At the beginning of last year, demonstrators left a severed pig’s head in the couple’s driveway after spray-painting slogans about universal basic income and canceling rent on the garage door.
San Francisco has made headlines for continual problems with homelessness, public safety, drug use, and violent crime amid lackluster law enforcement, which recently led voters to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
White House Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that President Joe Biden is praying for Mr. Pelosi and his family and called the Speaker “to express his support after this horrible attack.”