SAN FRANCISCO
In the months leading up to the attack of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, suspect David DePape became consumed by conspiracy theories and far-right extremist views, spewing them freely on social media and his personal blog.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott on Friday morning identified DePape, 42, as the suspect who broke into the Pelosi’s home and attacked Paul Pelosi, 82, with a hammer. DePape was booked into San Francisco County Jail Friday afternoon on a long list of charges, including attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elderly abuse, burglary and threatening the family member of a public official.
“This was not a random act,” Scott said. “This was intentional — and it’s wrong.”
Although authorities have not released a motive, social media posts, blog entries and online news clips began to paint a picture of who DePape was and what may have led to his dangerous and erratic behavior.
A blog written under the name of DePape — with the domain ‘godisloving.wordpress.com’ and banner that reads “Welcome to Big Brothers Censorship Hell” — includes articles titled ‘pedophile normalization,’ ‘facts are racist,’ and ‘Hitler did nothing wrong.’
His posts contain right-wing conspiracy theories, QAnon beliefs and racists messages. He repeatedly railed against government officials, the media and tech companies for alleged censorship. The blog, created in 2007, was largely inactive until this summer, when he made dozens of posts in the span of just four days in August.
Another website with entries also written by a person who identifies as David DePape similarly contains antisemitic and bigoted blog posts, including denial of the Holocaust.
CNN reported that DePape’s Facebook account, which has been taken down by the social media company, contained memes and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines, the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack.
“I’m deeply saddened by this, and as much as I will always care for my brother, I don’t know him anymore,” DePape’s sister Joanne Robinson wrote in a Facebook direct message to a Bee reporter. Robinson said DePape stopped speaking to his family more than 20 years ago.
Gene DePape, the suspect’s stepfather, said David DePape grew up in Powell River, British Columbia but left for the United States in 2003. He said he has not seen or talked to his stepson since.
“All I know is he was never violent, so this totally surprises me,” he told a Sacramento Bee reporter, adding that he was “extremely worried about (David DePape’s) children.”
According to a 2008 Oakland Tribune article, DePape has three children with Oxane “Gypsy” Taub, a prominent Bay Area nude activist who pushed conspiracy theories, including that 9/11 was an “inside job” and attempted to stage a naked wedding on the steps of San Francisco City Hall. A 2013 article in The San Francisco Chronicle identified David DePape as a “hemp jewelry maker” who was living in a Berkeley Victorian flat with Taub, their three children and Taub’s partner at that time, Jaymz Smith.
Taub was found guilty in August 2021 of stalking and attempting to abduct a 14-year-old boy. According to the California Department of Corrections website, Taub was admitted into prison in December 2021 and is currently serving time at the California Institution of Women.
The attack of Paul Pelosi in San Francisco
San Francisco police officers responded to a report of a priority well-being check at 2:27 a.m. on Friday at the Pelosi’s home in San Francisco’s upscale Pacific Heights neighborhood, according to Scott. Nancy Pelosi was in Washington D.C. during the time of the attack.
DePape barged into the home through a back door, and according to multiple reports, yelled “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?”
When officers arrived at the scene, they found DePape and Paul Pelosi, 82, both fighting to gain control of a hammer. DePape pulled the hammer away from Paul Pelosi and began “violently assaulting him,” Scott said.
Officers quickly tackled and disarmed the assailant, and both DePape and Paul Pelosi were transported to the hospital.
Paul Pelosi underwent surgery on Friday at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital to repair a skull fracture, as well as serious injuries to his right arm and hands, according an afternoon statement by Nancy Pelosi’s spokesperson. His doctors expect a full recovery.
The FBI, San Francisco Police and U.S. Capitol Police have opened a joint investigation into the incident.
“We are working closely with them right now with respect to the investigation and we’ll proceed with the appropriate charges,” said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.
Although investigators had not officially tied DePape to any right-wing extremist groups as of Friday afternoon, some Democrat leaders speculated that divisive political rhetoric from the far right may played a role in DePape’s motivation for the attack.
“This attack is terrifying, and the direct result of toxic right wing rhetoric and incitement against Speaker Pelosi and so many other progressive leaders,” Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said in a statement. “Words have consequences, and without question, the GOP’s hate and extremism has bred political violence. We must hold accountable leaders and public figures who incite this violence.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom called the attack “another example of the dangerous consequences of the divisive and hateful rhetoric that is putting lives at risk and undermining our very democracy and Democratic institutions.”
“Those who are using their platforms to incite violence must be held to account,” he said. “Our leaders should never fear for their safety and the safety of their families in serving the people they were elected to represent – not in their homes, not at the U.S. Capitol, not anywhere.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2022 10:46 AM.