Paul Pelosi Appears to Cover Injuries at First Appearance Since Attack

Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, appeared to cover up his injuries at the Kennedy Center Honors after he was brutally attacked in late October.

On Sunday, the couple, both 82, attended the Washington, D.C. event—which recognizes artists' contributions to American culture through the performing arts—alongside President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff.

George Clooney, Gladys Knight, Amy Grant, U2 and conductor Tania León were among those honored at the John F. Kennedy Center.

Paul Pelosi, who suffered a fractured skull and sustained serious injuries to his right arm and hands during the attack, wore a black hat and a black glove to the ceremony. It marked his first public appearance since the incident.

His alleged attacker, David DePape, is said to have broken into Paul and Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco home on October 28 in search of the Speaker and shouted, "Where is Nancy?"

The 42-year-old has since been charged with state and federal charges including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, residential burglary, elder abuse, false imprisonment, threats to a public official and their family, assault on the immediate family member of a federal official and attempted kidnapping of a federal official.

He pleaded not guilty to the state charges in early November and pleaded not guilty to the federal charges in mid-November.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the speaker was not home at the time of the incident.

During an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper in November, Nancy Pelosi discussed her husband's physical and emotional journey to recovery.

"(The head injury was) on the top in two places. And that's pretty awful. That's pretty awful," she said on Anderson Cooper 360° of the skull fracture, for which Paul Pelosi underwent surgery. "But the good news was when he came—when he had the operation, and we were blessed by the health care professionals at San Francisco General. They told us it had not pierced his brain, which is what could be deadly or worse."

Nancy Pelosi further explained the seriousness of her husband's surgery.

"What they had to do was they had to take off the skull, reshape it, put it back so it didn't scratch or pierce the brain. It's pretty—it's a pretty serious operation... Always concern, the hematomas, all the rest of that."

As for how Paul Pelosi is feeling emotionally, his wife said, "He's doing OK."

"It's a long haul. But he knows he has to pace himself," she shared during the chat. "He's, such a gentleman that he's not complaining. But he's also knowing that it's a long haul. He's so concerned about the traumatic effect on our children and our grandchildren. And we're concerned about the traumatic effect on him."

She added: "For me, this is really the hard part because Paul was not the target. And he's the one who's paying the price."