What is known about the attack on Paul Pelosi

The man who allegedly attacked Paul Pelosi, husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is expected to have federal charges brought against him by the US attorney in San Francisco on Monday, two sources familiar with the matter told AFP. CNN .

David DePape, 42, faces potential charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, theft and other crimes related to the Friday morning attack at the couple’s San Francisco home.

Paul Pelosi was interviewed this weekend at the hospital by investigators and was able to provide details of the attack, they told CNN two police sources and a source familiar with the matter. Among those who conducted the interview were FBI and local police investigators.

DePape’s alleged motive is not yet known, although police believe he intentionally entered the house. THE CNN reported that he posted memes and conspiracy theories on Facebook about Covid-19 vaccines, the 2020 election, and the January 6, 2021 Capitol invasion.

The attack renewed discussions about violent rhetoric directed at lawmakers, with Democrats urging Republicans to forcefully condemn extremist language in their camp, as well as concerns about lawmakers’ safety.

See what is currently known about the attack.

DePape was carrying cable ties and duct tape, sources say

THE CNN reported Sunday that DePape had with him a bag that contained multiple “hellerman tape” cable ties, among other things, according to two sources who were briefed on the incident.

In addition to the cable ties, the suspect also had duct tape on him, according to a police source. The hammer that was used to allegedly assault Pelosi was brought in by DePape, according to a police source and a congressional aide briefed on the attack.

None of the sources knew if there were any other weapons found when DePape was arrested. THE CNN previously reported that DePape allegedly tried to tie up Pelosi.

Police said DePape entered the home through a back door and it was unclear if he bypassed any security measures.

THE CNN previously reported that DePape confronted Pelosi and asked where his wife was, yelling, “Where’s Nancy?” She was not at home at the time of the attack.

Paul Pelosi was able to call 911 early in the attack, a law enforcement source and another source familiar with the matter previously said.

San Francisco police entered the home at around 2:27 am local time on Friday to find Pelosi struggling with DePape, who had a hammer, according to the city’s chief of police. The agents saw DePape “violently attack” Pelosi with the hammer before they were able to throw him to the ground and arrest him.

Renewed fears of political violence

The attack, which came in the final stretch of a mid-term campaign season in which Nancy Pelosi often served as a focus of Republican criticism, renewed concerns about violence directed at lawmakers, especially in the wake of the Jan. 2021.

“What makes us think that a party can talk about ‘stolen elections’, ‘Covid being a hoax’, ‘this is all a bunch of lies’ and not affect people who might not be so balanced?” said President Joe Biden on Friday.

“What makes us think this won’t erode the political climate?”

Kentucky Representative James Comer, who is expected to become chairman of the House Oversight Committee if the GOP gains control of the House next year, condemned the attack in comments to the CNN on Saturday (29) and said that both Republicans and Democrats need to tone down the political rhetoric, while admitting that he too could improve in this regard.

“It’s a very difficult environment out there. There are many people who get so excited, because of various political causes. This puts a lot of politicians in a dangerous situation,” he told Pamela Brown of CNN .

Mixed response from Republicans

Several prominent Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, condemned the attack, though a few others — most notably former President Donald Trump — remained silent.

Florida Senator Rick Scott, who chairs the Republicans’ campaign arm of the Senate, told Dana Bash of CNN on Sunday, that the attack was “disgusting” but avoided questions about electoral conspiracy theories that were shared by the alleged attacker on social media.

Asked by Bash if his party should do more to reject the false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021 insurrection that were shared on social media by DePape, Scott did not respond directly.

And Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer, chairman of the campaign arm of the Republican Party in the House, broadly condemned the violence in an interview with CBS on Sunday but refused to commit to taking down ads directed against Nancy Pelosi.

Emmer also did not commit to taking down a recent tweet, which included a video of him firing a gun that read: “I enjoyed exercising my Second Amendment rights. […] Let’s #FirePelosi,” telling CBS that he disagreed that the tweet was dangerous.

DePape posted several conspiracy theories online

An investigation of CNN about DePape found that he posted memes and conspiracy theories on Facebook about Covid-19 vaccines, the 2020 election, and the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Most of the public posts on DePape’s Facebook page were from 2021. In previous years, DePape has also posted lengthy messages about religion, including claims that “Jesus is the Antichrist.” None of the public posts seemed to mention Pelosi.

His stepfather, Gene DePape, said that David DePape grew up in Powell River, British Columbia, and left Canada about 20 years ago after a relationship that took him to California.

People who knew DePape in California described him as a strange person, with an acquaintance, Linda Schneider, a California resident, telling the CNN that she had received “really disturbing” emails from DePape in which he seemed “a megalomaniac and so out of touch with reality”.

She said she stopped communicating with him “because it seemed too dangerous”, adding that she remembered him “using biblical justification to cause harm”.

*With input from Stephen Collinson, Jamie Gangel, Whitney Wild, Daniella Diaz, Shawna Mizelle, Casey Tolan, Curt Devine, Daniel A. Medina, Majlie de Puy Kamp and Evan Perez of CNN.