The Assassination Attempt On Nancy Pelosi
It's the most logical outcome of the far-right's incessant flood of crass insults and non-stop hate, its disgust and disdain for "the other", and repeated calls for deadly violence aganst "the enemy".
Call it what it was — and what San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins called it — an assassination attempt on Nancy Pelosi.
The criminal complaint charged David DePape, a 42-year-old Trump & QAnon supporter, with violating 18 U.S.C. §115(a)(1)(A) and (b) (assault on the immediate family member of a federal official) and 18 U.S.C. §1201(d) (attempted kidnapping of a federal official). Additional charges included attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, and false imprisonment of an elder.
When questioned by the FBI, DePape stated that he likened himself to the U.S. founding fathers in their fight against the British because “he was fighting against tyranny without the option of surrender”. DePape also “stated he wanted to tie Pelosi up so that DePape could go to sleep as he was tired from having had to carry a backpack to the Pelosi residence”. Low-energy MAGA!
The Right-Wing Ecosystem That Created The Paul Pelosi Conspiracy Theory
Matt Gertz, Media Matters, October 31, 2022
It took roughly 48 hours for the right-wing media ecosystem to turn a story about a man who committed political violence after becoming consumed by right-wing conspiracy theories about the depravity of the left into another right-wing conspiracy theory about the depravity of the left.
On Friday morning, a man broke into the San Francisco home of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He was reportedly carrying zip ties and duct tape and, according to law enforcement, was looking for the woman who is second in line to the presidency. She was not present, but the man did find and severely beat her 82-year-old husband, Paul, with a hammer, sending him to the hospital for emergency surgery.
The assailant, who was arrested and identified by police as David DePape, had an extensive Internet footprint that suggests a standard case of online right-wing radicalization. DePape’s writings show his adherence to a wide range of conspiracy theories that are often propped up or adopted in their entirety by prominent right-wing media figures and Republican officials. President Joe Biden on Friday night condemned the impact the Republican Party’s “vitriol” has on those who may be mentally unbalanced.
But in the days since the attack, people who get their news from right-wing sources have instead been told an absurd and baseless conspiracy theory. In this telling, there was no home invasion; instead DePape is actually Paul Pelosi’s leftist gay lover, and the police, Democrats, and the press are covering up that the assault was really a lovers’ spat. The tale was quickly adopted by influential right-wing figures – including Twitter owner Elon Musk – and, if past is prologue, will be accepted by a sizable percentage of the GOP base.
The Pelosi conspiracy theory took hold so quickly thanks to the parallel media ecosystem the right constructed over decades. That ecosystem features numerous outlets that generate conspiracy theories for partisan and financial gain; food-chain mechanisms that swiftly distribute them to millions of people; an existing right-wing audience trained to demand such fantasies; minimal internal guardrails within the right-wing press to provide more credible information; and strong external barriers against contrary information from mainstream news sources.
How The Right Built A Paul Pelosi Conspiracy Theory
The right’s conspiracy theorists went to work soon after news of Paul Pelosi’s assault broke. . . .
The Attack On Nancy Pelosi's Husband Is The Culmination Of Longtime GOP Hate-Mongering
For Years, Republicans Made Nancy Pelosi Out To Be A Public Enemy. The Attack On Her Home Is The Result.
Nicole Narea, Vox, October 31, 2022
Friday’s brutal attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, at their San Francisco home was overtly political — and a logical endpoint to the decades of deeply personal villainization Speaker Pelosi has weathered from her political opponents.
It’s now clear the speaker was the target of Friday’s attack. The assailant broke into the home looking for her, reportedly shouting, “Where is Nancy?” — echoing what insurrectionists called out when they breached the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 — and saying that he would wait “until Nancy got home” as he confronted Paul Pelosi. The speaker’s husband suffered a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands that required surgery after the assailant bludgeoned him with a hammer. The attacker faces federal assault and attempted kidnapping charges. (A spokesperson for the speaker said in a statement that Paul Pelosi is expected to make a full recovery.)
Republicans have dismissed any connection between their rhetoric and the attack. Instead, they’ve blamed Democratic policies on crime and suggested that growing political violence may be the result of general anxiety around election legitimacy. . . .
Pelosi has been villainized by Republicans since she first ascended to Democratic leadership.
In 2003, within days of her election as House minority leader, she quickly faced gendered attacks from Republicans who were, as Mark Z. Barabak wrote for the Los Angeles Times at the time, “eager to attack Pelosi as a loopy San Francisco liberal . . . Within days, her face — garish and twisted — showed up in an attack ad slamming the Democrat in a Louisiana House race. . . .
Such attacks continued throughout her tenure as minority leader, including during the 2006 election when Republicans ran a swath of attack ads featuring unflattering photos of Pelosi often looking angry, bug-eyed, or startled. . . . [In 2010] Republicans made her the face of their attacks on Democrats’ Affordable Care Act and launched a “Fire Pelosi” campaign, which involved a bus tour and images of Pelosi engulfed in flames.
Under the Trump era and in the years since, the attacks have only escalated in tenor. Former President Donald Trump, who has remained silent about the attack on Paul Pelosi, shared doctored videos of the speaker designed to call into question her mental fitness, retweeted accusations that she was “drinking booze on the job,” and had a litany of derogatory nicknames for her, among them “Crazy Nancy,” “Nervous Nancy,” and “Nancy Antoinette.” . . .
In 2021, Fox News host Mark Levin called her “a nasty old bag — that’s what she is, a nasty, vicious, unhinged fool” who “has the hots for Trump” and “can’t get Trump out of her head.” . . .
In 2018 and 2019, [Marjorie] Taylor Greene repeatedly seemed to suggest support for Pelosi’s execution, among that of other prominent Democrats, liking a Facebook post that said “a bullet to the head” would be the most expedient way to end Pelosi’s speakership. Taylor Greene also claimed in a Facebook video that Pelosi was guilty of treason, noting “a crime punishable by death is what treason is.”
One candidate in the GOP primary for Senate in Arizona this year aired a Super Bowl ad that featured him dressed as sheriff shooting down an actor playing Pelosi, identified as “Crazy Face Pelosi,” after he says, “The good people of Arizona have had enough of you.” . . .
Last week, National Republican Congressional Committee chair Tom Emmer (R-MN) posted a video of himself firing a gun with the hashtag #FirePelosi. . . .
Other Republicans — including Florida Sen. Rick Scott, chair of the GOP’s Senate campaign arm — denounced the attack but argued against Republicans having a key role in fomenting the conspiracy theories of the attacker. . . .
The vilification of Pelosi has taken an even uglier form in ultra-right-wing circles online. . . . Some on Trump’s social media platform Truth Social have also been openly celebrating the attack . . .
She was a top target during the January 6 insurrection, when the mob tore apart her office, calling out her name and searching for her. Rioters, emboldened by Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him, left no doubt as to what they would have done to her: “We did our part. We were looking for Nancy to shoot her in the frickin’ brain. But we didn’t find her,” one woman said in a selfie video. . . .
Suspect In Paul Pelosi Attack Had List Of Targets, Law Enforcement Sources Say
Jeff Pegues and Gina Martinez, CBS News, October 31, 2022
The suspect in the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi had a list of people he wanted to target, law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation confirmed to CBS News. . . .
They have not gone so far as to call the list a "hit list," but authorities believe the suspect may have been planning to target others, the sources said. . . .
The suspect allegedly broke into the couple's home around 2 a.m. on Friday, shouting "Where is Nancy?" . . .
Police have not specified a motive, but said it was "not a random act." . . .
The suspect was immediately apprehended by police and will be charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and several additional felonies, according to authorities.
A CBS News review of suspected social media posts by DePape turned up conspiracy theories about Holocaust denial, pedophiles in the government, and claims that Democratic officials run child sex rings. . . .
Behind The GOP Gaslighting Over Pelosi Attack: They Know It Won't Happen To Them
Republicans Wink And Nod And Spread Grotesque Memes. They Only Pretend To Disapprove — Because The Tactic Works
Heather Digby Parton, Salon, October 31, 2022
We’ve heard a lot about “gaslighting” over the past few years, and often the term doesn’t really apply to whatever phenomenon is being discussed. But this past weekend we saw a perfect example, with Republicans and their media allies working overtime to convince Americans that political violence is found on “both sides” of the partisan divide. . . .
It’s obvious to all rational people that the assailant intended to abduct, injure or kill Nancy Pelosi, based on those facts alone. (CNN reported on Sunday night that the attacker was carrying zip ties in a plastic bag.) It’s also reasonable to suspect the man had a political motive, since he was echoing the chants that rang through the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Trump’s rampaging headed for Pelosi’s office. It also turns out, unsurprisingly, that the alleged attacker, 42-year-old man David DePape, also left a long social media trail of unhinged right-wing conspiracy theories, racist and antisemitic rants, incel complaints, QAnon lunacy and more. . . .
[I]t’s pretty clear that yet another right-wing kook committed calculated political violence, and this time the target’s spouse took the hit. . . .
Last August, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., shared a chilling recording on Twitter:
As it happens, on Friday a different man pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Swalwell. Apparently, he called the congressman’s office and told him he had an AR-15 and was coming after him. Last Wednesday, three men were found guilty for their involvement in the plot to kidnap against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who has been a particular target of right-wing rage.
All of that happened in the span of just three days, and that’s the tip of the iceberg. The country is awash in right-wing violence, from overt threats and assaults against Democratic lawmakers to threats and intimidation directed against election workers and voters themselves.
It’s almost miraculous that something hasn’t happened to Nancy Pelosi before now. She has been the most demonized political figure in America for many years, with the possible exception of Hillary Clinton, her fellow target of right-wing misogyny. . . .
According to the Capitol Police, threats against Pelosi have proliferated in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack. One vicious creep was sentenced to a year and half in jail earlier this year for threatening to behead both Pelosi and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. . . .
How do we explain the cowardly behavior of the Republican leadership? Yes, we expect the fever swamp avatars to push disinformation. . . . We can certainly expect the prime-time stars of Fox News to have a fully-formed alternate-universe theory of the Pelosi assault. (The seeds are already planted.) . . .
The response of prominent Republicans has been nothing short of stunning. . . .
Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, last seen mocking John Fetterman, the Democratic Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, for his stroke-related disability, has protested that it’s deeply unfair to suggest that Republicans’ irresponsible rhetoric is somehow to blame. . . .
Political assassination is another order of magnitude [from street protests] . . . [I]n recent years in America, only the right has been reaping political profits from it. We are fortunate that so far no prominent political figure has literally been killed . . .
Republican officials, by and large, cannot quite bring themselves to condemn this. If anything, they wink and nod and suggest that it’s all part of the game: Democrats deserve this at least a little, they are prepared to win by any means necessary and, anyway, both sides do it too. No, not really. In fact, not at all.
Speaking of Swalwell:
The New York Times Follows Republicans In Framing The Pelosi Attack As A Crime Story
Aaron Rupar, Pubic Notice, October 31, 2022
Friday’s home intrusion targeting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the ensuing attempted murder of her husband Paul Pelosi is huge news, given that the suspect, David DePape, appears to be a deranged MAGA deluded by conspiracy theories spread by Republicans and Fox . . .
The Pelosis . . . were targeted in part because MAGA Republicans and their media echo chamber incite loonies like DePape to hate them.
And yet the New York Times’ main news story about the attack framed it as though it was a product of rising crime in San Francisco, noting that “the break-in and assault comes at a time when the city is awash in crises over crime and disorder in the streets.” This framing echoed messaging from prominent Republicans, which was more or less that the Pelosis have nobody to blame but themselves since Nancy is so soft on crime.
The Times also did the party of Trump a solid by placing the story below the fold in Saturday’s print edition — a highly questionable editorial call considering Republicans’ refusal to distance themselves from the conspiracy theories and bigotry that radicalized DePape, including the big lie, QAnon, and antisemitism. (This wasn’t just a print thing — both the Times and Post featured other stories at the top of their websites Saturday too.)
Given the link between DePape’s conspiratorial delusions and the overheated rhetoric in vogue among MAGAs, you’d think the violent attack on Pelosi would be more than a one day story, and could even be the sort of thing prominent Republicans would have to answer for. But pursuing it in that way might be perceived as biased against Republicans, and so the Rick Scotts of the world have gotten off easy so far. . . .
One can only imagine how Fox would react if a prominent Republican was attacked in a similar manner. But the thought exercise doesn’t really work, because Democratic rhetoric doesn’t incite violence against Republicans. There’s simply no way to “both sides” that fundamental difference between the two parties.
On October 23, 2022, the Times published an extensive article — which the editors clearly believed was important — across four of its six columns atop of the front page: “Incendiary Rhectoric Fuels Polarization”.
Then — only five days later — a member of the MAGA Cult (a “Trump Backer” in the words of the Times’ recent headline) breaks into the home of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with the intention (as he admitted afterwards) of killing her, and the Times shrugs, downplaying the story below the fold on Saturday, taking its lead, as Rupar reports above, from the far-right Republican playbook.
The following day, as more information on DePape’s background surfaced, the Times did not even bother putting the story on the front page, though it did include a short note directing readers to page 20 for any updates. I have highlighted that note below:
And jesus fuck, look at that headline given pride of place in the top right corner: “Midterms Offer Clash Of Visions Over U.S. Future”.
Numerous members of one of the country’s two parties have publicly admitted for many months that it wants to erase what is left of American democracy and turn the country into a fascist authoritarian state in which elections no longer exist, the only legal religion is a perverted version of Christianity, all public education is destroyed, Social Security, Medicare, and what little affordable healthcare still exists is wipe dout, any and all abortions are outlawed, all types of birth control are illegal, same-sex and interracial marriage are against the law, a modern Stasi is instituted in which citizens act as government informants and rat on their neighbours, there are mass book burnings, and it’s full speed ahead on every single one of their idiotic culture war issues. . . . But, yeah, it’s just a “clash of visions” and will likely cause “gridlock”!
The most influential newspaper in the country continues to bothsides the end of the United States as most people recognize it.
Jesus fuck, indeed.