Oddball suspect a ‘conspiracy nut and nudist’
The suspect accused of attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer is a conspiracy-theory nut, who previously campaigned for the acceptance of public nudity.
David DePape, 42, of Berkeley, Calif. was identified Friday afternoon as the suspect in the hammer attack on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi early Friday morning. Police said the motive behind his actions is not yet clear.
When DePape was arrested, he was allegedly found to be in possession of a manifesto-like note containing conspiracy theories views against the government’s handling the COVID-19 pandemic, KTVU reported, citing sources.
DePape’s family said they had largely been cut off from him since he moved from his native Canada to California some 20 years ago.
Teresa DePape, who is married to the suspect’s stepfather, told USA Today that David DePape had “strong opinions.”
“I didn’t know David to be a violent person,” she said. “But he was an aggressive speaker.”
California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said he remembered DePape as one of the “ringleaders” of nudity protests.
DePape was featured in a local news story about his friend Oxane “Gypsy” Taub’s 2013 naked wedding and was described as a “hemp jewelry maker and father figure,” serving as Taub’s best man.
DePape’s name is tied to two conspiracy blogs. One, titled “Big Brother Censorship Hell,” warns readers: “The elites/ruling class never censor themselves. You can still turn on any mainstream news channel to hear day and night the narrative put forth by the people who rule you.”
The second blog, frenlyfrens.com, hosts more detailed posts under categories like “climate hysteria” and “corruption.” Several posts espouse anti-Semitic conspiracies.
While it is unclear if DePape wrote any blog posts, relatives and acquaintances told CNN he often shared conspiracies on Facebook and seemed “out of touch with reality.”
DePape’s Facebook page, which has since been removed, featured dozens of posts riddled with false information about the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
In addition to a number of trans-phobic posts, DePape shared li nks falsely claiming COVID vaccines were deadly.
“The death rates being promoted are whatever [sic] ‘THEY’ want to be promoted as the death rate,” a post read.
He reportedly also shared vulgar of Disney songs from YouTube. One was titled “Do you want to f--k a snowman?’
Laura Hayes, who worked with DePape several years ago in Berkeley, told CNN that his posts were “so phobic” and filled with “so much anger.”
Another former acquaintance, Linda Schneider, told the outlet that she received “really disturbing” emails from DePape and stopped communicating with him “because it seemed so dangerous.”
Both Hayes and Schneider said that DePape had been living out of a storage facility.
DePape struggled with drugs roughly eight years ago, an old acquaintance told CNN, but was “trying to create a new life for himself.”
The former friend told the network she cut ties with DePape after receiving “disturbing” emails in which he sounded “dangerous” and “out of touch with reality.”