David DePape: The person who attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer is a nudist far-right conspiracy theorist


Man accused of breaking and getting into The California dwelling of Speaker of the Home Nancy Pelosi and severely beating her husband with a hammer seems to have posted racist and infrequently rambling messages on-line, together with some that questioned the 2020 election outcomes, defended former President Donald Trump and echoed QAnon conspiracy theories. .

David DePape, 42, grew up in Powell River, British Columbia, earlier than leaving about 20 years in the past to comply with an older girlfriend to San Francisco. A mailing tackle listed for DePape within the school city of Berkeley within the Bay Space led to a submit workplace field at a UPS retailer.

DePape was arrested at Pelosi’s dwelling early Friday. San Francisco District Legal professional Brooke Jenkins mentioned she expects to file a number of felony fees, together with tried homicide, assault with a lethal weapon, housebreaking and elder abuse.

Stepfather Gene DePape mentioned the suspect lived with him in Canada till he was 14 and was a quiet boy.

“David was by no means violent that I’ve seen and by no means had an issue regardless that he was very reclusive and performed video video games an excessive amount of,” Gene DePape mentioned.

He mentioned he had not seen his son-in-law since 2003 and had tried to contact him a number of instances through the years, with out success.

“In 2007 I attempted to get in contact however his girlfriend hung up on me once I requested to talk to her,” Gene DePape mentioned.

David DePape was recognized in Berkeley as a pro-nudity activist who went nude picketing protests towards native ordinances requiring folks to be wearing public.

Gene DePape mentioned the girlfriend his son adopted to California was named Gypsy they usually had two kids collectively. DePape additionally has a toddler with one other girl, his stepfather mentioned.

Pictures revealed by the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday recognized DePape frolicking bare exterior Metropolis Corridor with dozens of others on the 2013 marriage ceremony of pro-nudity activist Gypsy Taub, who was married to a different man. Taub didn’t reply to calls or emails on Friday.

A 2013 article in The Chronicle described David DePape as a “hemp jewellery maker” who lived in a Victorian condo in Berkeley with Taub, who hosted a chat present on native public tv titled “Uncensored 9/11,” by which she appeared. bare and elaborate conspiracy theories that the 2001 terrorist assaults have been “an inside job”.

A pair of weblogs revealed in latest months below the title David DePape contained rants about expertise, aliens, communists, non secular minorities and world elites.

An August 24 entry titled “Q” displayed a scatological assortment of memes together with pictures of deceased intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein and referenced QAnon, the baseless pro-Trump conspiracy concept that espouses the idea that the nation is run by a deep cabal of kid intercourse traffickers, satanic pedophiles and baby-eating cannibals.

“Large Brother thought of doing your personal analysis a thought crime,” learn one submit that appeared to combine QAnon references with George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.”

In an Aug. 25 entry titled “Gun Rights,” the poster wrote, “You haven’t any extra rights. Your fundamental human rights hinder the power of the Large Brothers to enslave and management you in a whole and totalizing approach.

The WordPress internet hosting service took down one of many websites on Friday afternoon for violate its phrases of use.

On one other to putsomebody posting as DePape repeated false claims about COVID vaccines and sporting masks, questioned whether or not local weather change was actual, and posted an illustration of a zombified Hillary Clinton consuming human flesh .

There did not appear to be any direct messages about Pelosi, however there have been entries defending former President Donald Trump and Ye, the rapper formally often called Kanye West who just lately made anti-Semitic feedback.

In different articles, the author mentioned Jews helped fund Hitler’s political rise in Germany and advised an anti-Semitic plot was concerned in Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine.

In a Sept. 27 article, the author mentioned any reporters who denied Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud within the 2020 presidential election “ought to be dragged straight to the streets and shot.”

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AP International investigative reporter Michael Biesecker reported from Washington and Breaking Information investigative reporter Bernard Condon from New York. Reporters Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles, Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco and information researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.

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