Here’s an excerpt from the Wall Street Journal coverage:
The intruder shouted, “Where is Nancy?” before attacking her husband, one of the officials said.
The intruder broke in through a sliding-glass door and beat Mr. Pelosi with a hammer, one of the officials said, leaving him badly injured with wounds to the head and body. The alleged assailant was arrested.
The suspected attacker has espoused extreme right-wing views on social media, including conspiracy theories about Covid-19, according to one of the law-enforcement officials.
Here’s further information on the suspect, 42-year-old David DePape, from CNN:
Last year, David DePape posted links on his Facebook page to multiple videos produced by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell falsely alleging that the 2020 election was stolen. Other posts included transphobic images and linked to websites claiming Covid-19 vaccines were deadly. “The death rates being promoted are what ever ‘THEY’ want to be promoted as the death rate,” one post read.
DePape also posted links to YouTube videos with titles like “Democrat FARCE Commission to Investigate January 6th Capitol Riot COLLAPSES in Congress!!!” and “Global Elites Plan To Take Control Of YOUR Money! (Revealed)”
Two days after former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of killing George Floyd, DePape wrote that the trial was “a modern lynching,” falsely indicating that Floyd died of a drug overdose.
So, yeah — a violent rightwing nutcase, which means the attack was almost certainly domestic terrorism. According to the SF police briefing, DePape attempted to tie Mr. Pelosi up and wait for the Speaker to return home, presumably so he could assault her too.
Kevin McCarthy, who recently said it would be “hard not to hit her with it” if Nancy Pelosi relinquishes the Speaker’s gavel to him after the midterms, sent thoughts and prayers, I assume.
Open thread.
Attack on Speaker’s husband sounds like domestic terrorismPost + Comments (306)