US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) addresses reporters during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, US, July 29, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

i24 News – US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday a violent attack on her husband highlighted the “fear” felt by poll workers and other Americans in the heated political climate ahead of next week’s midterm elections.

Pelosi made the comments in a video posted to her Facebook page, one day after her husband, Paul, was released from hospital following an attack in which a man broke into the couple’s California home and hit him on the head with a hammer.

She recited an excerpt from a poem by Israeli poet Ehud Manor that she read on several dramatic occasions, including in the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection and the Supreme Court decision to overturn a landmark ruling decriminalizing abortion nationwide.

“I have no other country. Although my land is burning, my veins, my soul, with an aching body and with a hungry heart, here is my home,” she read. “I will not be silent. For my country has changed her face. I will not give up on her.”

The man accused of the attack, David DePape, 42, allegedly intended to tie up Pelosi and break her kneecaps, but found only her 82-year-old husband.

DePape has a long history of amplifying and propounding anti-Jewish and other conspiracy theories.

“That has driven home to me the fear that some people have about what’s out there, coming at poll workers and the rest,” Pelosi said.

“The message is clear, there is reason to be concerned. But we can’t be fearful, we have to be courageous.”

“It’s going to be a long haul,” she continued, noting that her husband “will be well.”