Speculations about David Depape, the suspect accused of attacking Paul Pelosi, the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, being known to his victim have gone viral on social media. A video showing the broken window at Pelosi's home has also emerged on social media.
Who is David Depape?
Hailing from Berkeley, California, DePape has been described as an 'active online participant in multiple conspiracy theories, railing against perceived censorship and government control, and engaging in hate speech and antisemitism,' by CBS News.
According to the reports, the 42-year-old allegedly assaulted Paul with a hammer after invading the couple's early Friday. The outlet reported that prior to the attack, DePape shouted at Paul asking, "Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?" The attack left the 82-year-old elderly man with a fractured skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hands.
Addressing a news conference, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said said that the cops responded to a call at around 02:27 local time (09:27 GMT) on Friday. on reaching the house. they saw an injured Paul and DePape struggling over a hammer. The suspect who had attempted to tie up Paul "until Nancy got home", was disarmed by police. "Depape is facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and several other felonies," Chief Scott said.
Was Depape Known to Paul Pelosi?
The Independent reported that prior to the attack, Paul had called 911 and left the line open as he continued to interact with his attacker. Chief Scott said that during the call, Paul was talking in code and provided enough details so that the operator listening in would understand that the caller was in trouble. Following the call, the police came over to check on the house within three minutes.
Soon after details of 911 call emerged social media was flooded with speculations about DePape and Paul being lovers.
"Paul Pelosi had one of his young gay lovers over - David Wayne Depape. Depape was over for his usual night of "fun" (hence why he was in his underwear when police came). A domestic dispute broke out that got out of hand. Paul's gay lover voted for Obama, Hillary and Biden," tweeted a user.
"Paul Pelosi and David Depape were merely having a lover's spat. Why else would SFPD let them go at it?" wrote another.
"This is Weird? Pelosi Assailant David Depape Was In His Underwear When Police Arrived – Yanked the Hammer from Paul Pelosi Sounds more like a lover's quarrel," read another tweet.
82 year-old Paul Pelosi attacker identified as 42 year-old David DePape, most likely a gay lover who is now being vilified as a trump supporter and conservative after cnn claims to have seen posts on his Facebook page which was definitely not altered by Facebook employees at all.
— bill wilson (@FQsnowflake2) October 28, 2022
