David DePape, the 42-year-old California native who is accused of attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer at his San Francisco residence on Friday, left a bizarre online trail of conspiracy theories surrounding everything from the COVID-19 pandemic to the Holocaust.
But his online picture shows a journey from anti-George Bush leftist to someone who chanted a popular Jan. 6 refrain while committing his attack.
DePape is said to have broken into the home between midnight and 2am before demanding to know the location of Paul’s wife, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was not in the state at the time.
“Where’s Nancy?” he allegedly said, the same chant rioters used while stalking the halls of Congress.
After DePape’s arrest, numerous writings that reportedly belonged to the suspected attacker were uncovered. As reported by CNN, a now-deleted Facebook page belonging to DePape was filled with videos produced by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell falsely labeling the 2020 presidential election as stolen.
DePape also shared a YouTube video referring to the investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as a “Democrat FARCE” and defended Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin after he was found guilty of killing George Floyd.
A personal blog cited by HEAVY as belonging to DePape—who has been charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, and other charges—also decried “Big Brother’s Censorship” and major tech companies.
Other posts referred to “Photographic PROOF” of “Alien-Human Hybrid Infiltrators” as well as the term “Black Pilled,” used to describe those who have adopted a nihilistic view towards life and politics. DePape also referred to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as “Hitlery.”
Another blog reportedly linked to DePape known as “FrenlyFrens” includes numerous antisemitic writings. One such blog, titled “Ukrainian Cannon Fodder,” starts by stating that “The more Ukrainians die NEEDLESSLY the cheaper the land will be for Jews.”
That site covered a number of topics that appear to align with far-right flashpoints, like criticism of Amber Heard in her trial against Johnny Depp, grooming in schools, and voter fraud.
It is not definitive that the blog belongs to DePape, but a domain search shows the blog is registered to a David DePape who lives in Richmond, California, which is just outside of Berkeley.
Although the blog does not have an outright association with white nationalist Groypers, the use of the term “frens” is popular among the movement. A person involved with the Groypers was part of the group that breached Pelosi’s office on Jan. 6.
Also on the blog is a section about the Great Reset, a conspiracy canard of the QAnon crowd.
A search for the term “Holohoax,” used by those who deny the Holocaust, also brings up numerous posts that feature antisemitic art.
It appears DePape’s politics had shifted aggressively to the right during the last several years. The suspect was previously listed as a member of the Green Party and worked as a hemp jewelry maker in the early 2010s. DePape was even chosen to be the best man at a nudist wedding at San Francisco City Hall in 2013.
Law enforcement officials are currently investigating the motive for the attack.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
Source: https://www.dailydot.com/debug/david-depape-paul-pelosi-attack/