Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) retweeted a thread from far-right activist Matt Walsh challenging the notion that the alleged assailant, David DePape, was a militant right winger despite his blog in which he appears to have been deeply drawn into election falsehoods and political conspiracy theories.
Cruz quoted the thread dismissing DePape as “a hippie nudist from Berkeley” with one word: “truth.”
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) tweeted and deleted a post late Sunday that pushed a conspiracy theory about the violent attack and included a photo of Nancy Pelosi.
Terrence K. Williams, a conservative comedian who spoke at the White House during the Trump presidency, tweeted false information about Paul Pelosi and the suspect.
And Donald Trump Jr., son of the former president, tweeted images that highlighted the falsehood on Halloween.
As of Monday, Paul Pelosi, 82, was recovering in Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital following surgery for a fractured skull and other injuries from the attack early Friday. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Police identified 42-year-old DePape, who has written pro-Trump and anti-Democratic posts on his blog, as the suspect. San Francisco Police Chief William Scott would not speculate on a motive for the attack, but it appears that the assailant had been looking for the speaker, and he uttered “Where’s Nancy,” according to a person briefed on the case.
“This was not a random act. This was intentional,” Scott told reporters Friday.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins was expected to announce charges against DePape on Monday, including attempted murder and assault.
The Washington Post confirmed that a voluminous blog written under DePape’s name was filled with deeply antisemitic writings and baseless claims as well as pro-Donald Trump and anti-Democratic posts. It was registered to a house in Richmond, Calif., where DePape lives, according to neighbors.
Nancy Pelosi made her first public comments about the matter on Saturday night in a “Dear Colleague” letter to members of Congress, referring to how “a violent man broke into our family home, demanded to confront me and brutally attacked my husband Paul.”
She thanked supporters, saying that “the outpouring of prayers and warm wishes from so many in the Congress is a comfort to our family and is helping Paul make progress with his recovery.” The letter didn’t make any political attacks but quoted a Bible verse from Isaiah 41:10 that begins “Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.”
U.S. Capitol Police said it was assisting the FBI and San Francisco police in investigating the break-in and attack.
The Capitol Police, the agency responsible for protecting members of Congress, has reported a sharp increase in threats against lawmakers in recent years, and threats have sharply escalated since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. It said the number of cases involving threats against members of Congress rose from about 4,000 in 2017 to more than 9,600 last year.
Paul Pelosi owns Financial Leasing Services, a San Francisco-based real estate and venture capital investment and consulting firm. He met his wife while studying at Georgetown University. She was a student at Trinity College at the time. The Pelosis have been married for 59 years and have five children.
Laurie McGinley, Paul Kane and Kim Bellware contributed to this report.
Leave a Reply