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The grim and disturbing news that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, was attacked in their San Francisco home has unfortunately—if rather predictably—sent the rumor mill into overdrive, with conspiracy theories about the break-in and the suspect's motives mushrooming out in the ensuing hours and days.
Despite it being just three days since the incident, many have begun to speculate the motivation and the purported relationship between the victim and the suspect.
Some of these have been sufficiently widespread to have even seemingly fooled the world's richest man, Elon Musk, who shared a baseless story about the perpetrator's relationship with Mr. Pelosi (later deleting the tweet).
This has, of course, happened amid a police investigation, with little further information made public so far. The House speaker issued a statement on Saturday, but, perhaps understandably given the shocking and traumatic circumstances, has offered little else in terms of commentary or details about the incident.
With limited details available and the information gap swiftly being filled with conjecture and misinformation, Newsweek has attempted to separate the facts from the speculation and outright falsehoods.
What happened to Paul Pelosi and when?
The basic facts are well-established by now. On October 28, 2022, Paul Pelosi was attacked at his San Francisco home.
The House speaker's spokesman, Drew Hammill, said in a statement to reporters that "an assailant" had broken into the residence and "violently assaulted Mr. Pelosi."
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott told the media on Friday that officers found Mr. Pelosi and the suspect holding a hammer.
"The suspect pulled the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and violently assaulted him with it," Scott said. "Our officers immediately tackled the suspect, disarmed him, took him into custody, requested emergency backup, and rendered medical aid.
Both men were taken to a hospital. Pelosi is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing surgery to treat a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands. The severity of his injuries, however, remains unclear.
The alleged attacker, 42-year-old David DePape, was charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and "several other additional felonies."
It was reported by the Associated Press that DePape entered the home shouting "Where's Nancy?" before hitting Paul Pelosi with a hammer.
DePape, when in police custody, allegedly said he planned to "hold Nancy hostage and talk to her," according to the charging papers published by the Washington Post. "If Nancy were to tell 'the truth,' he would let her go, and if she 'lied' he was going to break 'her kneecaps.'"
What else do we know about David DePape?
According to AP, DePape, who remains in custody, grew up in the Canadian city of Powell River, British Columbia, leaving for the San Francisco area roughly 20 years ago to live with an older girlfriend.
He has also been affiliated with a prominent pro-nudist activism group in the Bay Area. A San Francisco Chronicle report said that he was considered a "father figure" at a group home in Berkeley populated by members of the group.
Politico reported how DePape was known to have attended several nudist protests across the Bay Area in the early 2010s, speaking out against local ordinances requiring residents to wear clothing in public.
A photo has also been circulating online showing the attacker, with clothes on, at a nudist wedding in 2013. As of that wedding nine years ago, he was also known to make jewelry products out of hemp.
DePape is said to have two children with a woman named Gypsy Taub, a Russian American pro-nudity activist from San Francisco, as well as another child with a different woman.
He appears to have shared conspiratorial leanings with Taub, who hosted a public-access television program called "Uncensored 9/11" in which she discussed in the nude conspiracy theories surrounding September 11, 2001, attacks.
DePape is said to have posted a number of mainstream and fringe conspiracy theories online, including that the 2020 election was stolen from President Donald Trump, climate change denial, COVID-19 vaccine and mask skepticism, and other narratives associated with QAnon.
According to reports citing a blog allegedly administered by DePape, he also promoted a conspiratorial narrative blaming Jewish people for Russia's war in Ukraine, claiming the events are orchestrated as part of a scheme "for Jews to buy land."
Some relatives have since verified the contents of DePape's since-deleted Facebook page, which included posts discussing widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, posts with misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine, and a YouTube video titled "Global Elites Plan To Take Control Of YOUR Money! (Revealed)."
A report by CBS News published Monday said Nancy Pelosi was not the only person DePape wanted to target. According to the network's sources, he had a "hit list" of people he had been planning to attack that authorities believe to be genuine. Newsweek could not independently verify the claims.
DePape is in custody and is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.
What else has been said about Pelosi and DePape?
It didn't take long for conspiracy theories and baseless rumors to turn up on social media after the attack. They have included posts variously purporting that DePape is black, a federal agent, and a former lover of Paul Pelosi, all of which are either patently false or made without evidence.
The latter of the rumors took particular prominence after new Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted the conspiracy theory from an article in the Santa Monica Observer with the headline "The Awful Truth: Paul Pelosi Was on Drugs And In a Dispute With a Male Prostitute Friday Morning."
Musk, who has sparked concerns regarding his planned liberalization of Twitter moderation rules, was responding to a tweet by Hillary Clinton about DePape's conspiratorial leanings.
"The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories. It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result," Clinton wrote, with a link to a Los Angeles Times article about DePape's reported "far-right" beliefs.
"There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye," Musk replied, attaching the conspiratorial article.
While Musk has since deleted the tweet he has not issued a statement about the misinformation, which has not been backed up by any facts and has been widely dismissed.
Other posts made less egregious but no more convincing claims, including that Nancy Pelosi has refused to release CCTV footage from the incident, even though it appears that the Pelosi family has made no such statement.
What else has been speculated?
Clinton's tweet (among others) about the Republican Party and conspiratorial messaging appears to have struck a chord with right-leaning commentators and GOP members, who have scorned what they see as a baseless attack on their beliefs.
The Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro tweeted: "The attempt to twist the Paul Pelosi attack into a broader story about supposed extremism in Republican rhetoric (so vote Dem!) is so transparently opportunistic and pathetic.
"Everyone can see what you're doing, Democrats and the media, and it's disgusting."
However, right-leaning commentators have also tried to portray DePape as having ties to their opponents. Controversial political commentator Carol M. Swain wrote on Monday: "The Left never met a crisis it could not politicize. #DavidDePape is one of theirs. He has all the markers of the looney left."
As the investigation continues, the claims remain unevidenced and speculative. With so little verifiable information about DePape currently available, it's difficult and potentially dangerous to draw conclusions about his motivations, even as the public's demand for clarity and answers grows.
While some have suggested the possibility of drug influence, political radicalization or mental health issues among the factors behind the assault, the claims remain speculation.
It is another example of how disturbing events can often become a magnet for unfounded narratives, misguided or reductive analysis, and partisan opportunism.
Newsweek reached out to Twitter and Nancy Pelosi for comment.
About the writer
Tom Norton is Newsweek's Fact Check reporter, based in London. His focus is reporting on misinformation and misleading information in ... Read more