The New Zealand-based family member of a man who clubbed US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband over the head with a hammer says he grew up in a loving family but became estranged years ago.
The attack on Paul Pelosi, 82, occurred on Friday (local time) when 42-year-old David DePape broke into the couple's San Francisco home.
CNN, citing a source, reported the assailant shouted "Where is Nancy?" before the attack. The Associated Press reported the hammer-wielding assailant specifically targeted the Pelosis' home.
It was unclear how the intruder got into the three-storey red brick townhouse but aerial photos showed shattered glass on a door at the rear of the house, Reuters reported.
DePape was arrested at the scene by police who intervened in the attack and will face charges of attempted murder and other misdemeanours.
Nancy Pelosi's office said Paul underwent surgery for a skull fracture and injuries to his right arm and hands, though doctors expect him to make a full recovery.
A relative of DePape's who lives in New Zealand told Newshub he "grew up in a loving family" but hasn't been in touch in a long time.
"He's sort of just estranged. He left our family from the age of 20 and just hasn't been in touch."
"I'm really sad for him that I can't help him as a family member, and I'm shocked, and we feel really bad for what he's done as well."
The relative said they "wish there was a way we could help him" but they can't when he hasn't been in touch.
"We're all just sad about it. Sad to see a family member go to jail."
"I just wish I could speak to him and let him know that the family still loves him, even though he's done something terrible you know."
DePape’s background is now under scrutiny with the San Francisco Chronicle reporting he had a childhood in Canada, before a stint in Hawaii. He then moved to the San Francisco area, followed by a stretch of pro-nudity activism.
"Most recently, [he had] an apparent obsession with pumping right-wing conspiracy theories into the internet - spending hours and days in front of a computer, filling web pages that had no apparent audience," the Chronicle reported.
DePape posted entries on his blog on August 25 with headlines such as "Communist Voodoo Science" and "The Woke are racists with a guilty conscience", the Chronicle reported.
WordPress has suspended the blog for violating its terms of service.
DePape continued his erratic behaviour on a different website where he posted vaccine conspiracy theories and claims about election fraud, writing that any journalist who disputed such claims "should be dragged out into the street and shot".
