Paul Pelosi’s Suspected Assailant Has Ties to QAnon

The man charged with attempted homicide for striking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in the head with a hammer had posted about QAnon conspiracy theories, including disinformation about election results, the Holocaust, and space aliens, amongst other topics.

According to Rolling Stone, in blog posts, the accused man, David DePape, wrote screeds that questioned the legitimacy of the Holocaust, climate change, and the 2020 election results, and also had sections dedicated to transphobia, racism and misogyny. Although Facebook deleted the post on Friday, he also posted similar content regarding conspiracy theories on the platform.

AP reported that DePape wrote a blog entry in August titled “Q,” which included references to QAnon and memes about deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Another August post featured his views on gun rights: “You no longer have rights. Your basic human rights hinder Big Brother’s ability to enslave and control you in a complete and totalizing way.”

The 42-year-old attacked 82-year-old Paul Pelosi at the couple’s San Francisco home. He apparently asked Paul Pelosi, “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” before hitting him in the head with a hammer. Pelosi suffered a skull fracture, and underwent a “successful surgery.” Pelosi somehow managed to call 911 before the attack, allowing the police to arrive in time to prevent further injury.

Speaker Pelosi was in Washington, D.C. on the night of the attack.

Gene DePape, David’s stepfather said, that although he hasn’t seen his stepson since 2003: “David was never violent that I seen and was never in any trouble although he was very reclusive and played too much video games.”

A number of Republicans were quick to blame Democrats and President Joe Biden for the attack. After Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) tweeted that violence “shouldn’t happen to Paul Pelosi. It shouldn’t happen to innocent Americans. It shouldn’t happen to me,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said that she made the attack about her and added, “YOU called for Nancy Pelosi to be executed.”