The suspect accused of violently attacking Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband early Friday appeared to have far-reaching and at instances contradictory political positions, in keeping with an early dive into his background.
Whereas a motive for the assault in opposition to 82-year-old Paul Pelosi was unclear Friday night, an image of the suspect, recognized by San Francisco police as 42-year-old David DePape, started to emerge.
Weblog posts which can be being investigated in reference to DePape describe somebody with sprawling and contradictory views, a number of senior regulation enforcement officers acquainted with the case instructed NBC Information. The posts take elements of liberal anti-establishment concepts to newer posts that espouse positions sometimes related to far-right extremism, the sources mentioned.
He appeared to function a web site on which he wrote all kinds of posts concerning virtually all method of recent conspiracy pondering: aliens, Jewish individuals, communism, vaccines, voter fraud and lots of different subjects.
Most of the posts had been printed in the previous few months.
A have a look at the person accused of attacking Paul Pelosi
- David DePape, the person accused of violently attacking the husband of Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi early Friday was looking for her, police mentioned.
- Weblog posts which can be being investigated in reference to DePape, 42, spotlight sprawling and contradictory views, officers acquainted with the case mentioned.
- An internet site that seemed to be linked to DePape touched on virtually all method of recent conspiracy pondering, together with aliens, Jewish individuals, communism, vaccines and voter fraud.
- DePape was booked within the county jail on really useful costs of tried murder, elder abuse, assault with a lethal weapon and housebreaking.
The web site, which was registered underneath “david depape” and to a ZIP code within the Bay Space, in keeping with registration information, didn’t point out Nancy Pelosi.
Inti Gonzalez, 21, recognized herself in a cellphone name Friday as DePape’s daughter. She mentioned she wrote in a weblog put up that her mom kicked DePape out when she was 13 due to alleged “poisonous” conduct.
Gonzalez wrote that she and DePape remained estranged till just a few months in the past when she reached out to him to see how he was doing.
“This assault on Nancy Pelosi’s husband got here as a shock to me,” she wrote. “I didn’t see this coming.”
She mentioned that she had learn his web site however didn’t agree with all of his views.
“It made me blissful to see that he had sturdy opinions about essential points that our world is going through right this moment,” Gonzalez wrote. “He wished to make a distinction.”
“There’s some a part of him that may be a good individual despite the fact that he has been very consumed by darkness.”
A motive in Friday’s assault stays unclear, and DePape had expressed typically conflicting political beliefs.
Police Chief William Scott mentioned throughout a Friday information convention that officers arrived on the Pelosi residence for a well-being examine shortly earlier than 2:30 a.m. PT. Police then witnessed an assault on Paul Pelosi. Each DePape and Paul Pelosi held a hammer moments earlier than a violent confrontation, Scott mentioned.
“The suspect pulled the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and violently assaulted him with it,” he mentioned. “Our officers instantly tackled the suspect, disarmed him, took him into custody, requested emergency backup and rendered medical assist.”
Paul Pelosi underwent profitable surgical procedure to restore a cranium fracture and critical accidents to his proper arm and fingers, Drew Hammill, spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, mentioned in a Friday afternoon assertion.
“His docs count on a full restoration,” Hammill mentioned.
DePape remained within the hospital Friday night, the police chief mentioned.
The Home speaker was not in San Francisco on the time of the assault, in keeping with her workplace. U.S. Capitol Police mentioned in an announcement that Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C., along with her protecting element on the time of the break-in.
Sources instructed NBC Information that earlier than the assault occurred, the intruder confronted Paul Pelosi shouting, “The place is Nancy, the place is Nancy?” One of many sources, a senior U.S. official briefed on the matter, added that the investigation remains to be growing.
A member of the family touring to San Francisco with the speaker mentioned the suspect introduced the hammer and broke the home windows of the Pelosi residence going through the yard. The member of the family mentioned as soon as inside, the suspect was attempting to tie up Paul Pelosi and mentioned they’d wait “till Nancy bought residence.” When the suspect wasn’t wanting, Paul Pelosi referred to as 911. The member of the family mentioned he was residence alone and was hit within the head with the hammer a number of instances. When the police arrived, the suspect mentioned, “We’re ready for Nancy.”
Paul Pelosi did not have a safety element. Spouses of prime lawmakers are not granted one as a result of they aren’t U.S. Capitol Police protectees.
DePape was booked within the county jail on really useful costs of tried murder, elder abuse, assault with a lethal weapon and housebreaking, in keeping with jail information. It was unclear Friday if he had retained an lawyer. His kinfolk couldn’t be reached for remark.
The FBI, the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace, U.S. Capitol Police and the San Francisco District Legal professional’s Workplace are aiding native police within the investigation, Scott mentioned.
A number of individuals who recognized themselves as FBI brokers arrived at one other Berkeley residence Friday afternoon and may very well be heard saying they had been there voluntarily and asking about DePape.
A person who appeared to stay on the residence mentioned DePape hadn’t lived there in 10 years and declined to speak to the brokers.
He declined to reply questions on DePape, and the obvious brokers additionally declined to debate why they had been there.
A Berkeley resident on Friday mentioned she final noticed DePape at a neighboring residence two weeks in the past. He was close to a faculty bus parked in entrance of the house.
Trish, 32, mentioned DePape lived for a time within the faculty bus and in a second faculty bus parked within the residence’s driveway that advertises “pure habit therapy.”
She mentioned he seemed to be a part of a “hippy collective” that stays on the residence.
An indication that mentioned “Black Lives Matter” may very well be seen hanging in a window on the residence. Within the entrance yard, a flag with a marijuana leaf and the colours of the satisfaction flag was draped from a tree.
Trish mentioned that individuals who keep within the residence had been in contrast to “some other happy-go-lucky, peace, love and friendship hippies. They’re aggressive they usually’re imply they usually begin issues for no purpose.”
She mentioned that folks in the home usually accused her and her accomplice of plotting to interrupt into their residence or steal from them. She mentioned one allegation occurred on Christmas Eve just a few years in the past, when she mentioned an officer knocked on her condominium door.
The officer mentioned authorities had been instructed that somebody in her residence was planning to steal a guitar from the neighbor, she recalled.
“I invited the officer inside and I mentioned, ‘go searching — we’re watching “The Christmas Story,” there’s a ham within the oven, everybody’s falling asleep. It’s Christmas.”
She mentioned the officer apologized and left.
A person who recognized himself solely as a resident of the home linked to DePape mentioned that somebody at his residence referred to as authorities after somebody at Trish’s residence was overheard discussing stealing music gear.
“It was in all probability dumb, drunk speak they usually in all probability weren’t that critical about it,” he mentioned. “However there was a report made.”
eHe disputed Trish’s characterization of the individuals within the residence.
