An America that can already feel like it’s hurtling toward political disintegration has been jolted yet again, this time by the violent attack on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi less than two weeks before Election Day. Seizing a hammer and leaving a trail of broken glass, an intruder broke into the couple’s San Francisco home early Friday and repeatedly struck Paul Pelosi, 82. He had surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands, and his doctors expect a full recovery, the speaker’s office said. The assailant confronted Paul Pelosi by shouting, “Where is Nancy,” according to another person familiar with the situation who was granted anonymity to discuss it. The Democratic congresswoman was in Washington at the time. The calling out of her name was a sign that the assault could have targeted the lawmaker, who as speaker is second in line to the presidency. The ambush was a particularly savage reminder of the extremism that has coursed through American politics in recent years, adding to a sense of foreboding with the Nov. 8 election nearly at hand. Armed watchers are staking out ballot drop boxes in Arizona to guard against false conspiracies about voter fraud. Threats against members of Congress have risen to historic levels. Public opinion surveys show fears for a fragile democracy and even of a civil war. Former President Donald Trump continues to deny that he lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, and his acolytes are attempting to consolidate their power over future elections. (…) Police have not identified a motive for the attack on Pelosi’s husband. Judging by social media posts, the suspect appears to have been stewing in a mix of conspiracy theories about elections and the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s bad regardless of the reasons, but if it’s politically motivated, it’s just another example of political violence and irresponsibility of folks who are opening the door to that type of violence against other elected officials,” Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, said in an interview. “It’s a very sad time for our country right now.”
via apnews: Pelosi attack shocks country on edge about democracy threats
siehe auch: Einbruch im Haus in #SanFrancisco – #Angreifer verletzt #Ehemann von #NancyPelosi Ein gewalttätiger Einbrecher hat Paul Pelosi, den Ehemann der Vorsitzenden des US-Repräsentantenhauses, attackiert. Medienberichten zufolge soll der Angreifer gerufen haben: »Wo ist Nancy?« Der Ehemann der demokratischen US-Spitzenpolitikerin Nancy Pelosi ist bei einem Einbruch attackiert worden. Ein Angreifer sei in der Nacht auf Freitag in das Haus des Paares in San Francisco eingedrungen und habe Paul Pelosi »gewaltsam angegriffen«, erklärte das Büro der Vorsitzenden des US-Repräsentantenhauses; Man Accused of Attacking Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Left Trail of Far-Right Hate. VICE News identified several blogs under the name of the suspect that espoused far-right conspiracy theories, racism, and sexism. The man who allegedly broke into Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and bludgeoned her husband Paul with a hammer appeared to ascribe to a grab bag of far-right conspiracy theories online, including Holocaust denial, election fraud, and Pizzagate. VICE News identified several blogs under the name David DePape that contained rambling screeds against minorities, politicians, and women. DePape, 42, has been charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, and elder abuse, for the brutal attack on 82-year-old Paul Pelosi in the early hours of Friday morning. The attack left Pelosi hospitalized due to blunt-force trauma on his head and body, and he underwent surgery. VICE News found two online blogs under DePape’s name: “The Loving God” and “Frenly Frens.” One of them, which was updated the night before the attack and frequently over the last months, features a wide range of topics, including “pedogate, “great reset,” “voter fraud,” “da jewbs,” and “Covid.” Many of the tags referred to women, including one directly about Amber Heard—the target of many misogynistic attacks stemming from her lawsuit with Johnny Depp. Recent headlines on “Frenly Frens” include “It’s OK to be White,” “Faking of Adolf Hitler for History,” and “Q.” The posts go on long diatribes against women, Jewish people, and Black people. One recent post referred to the Holocaust as a “hoax.” The writings also touch on popular far-right culture war topics, like “drag queen story hours,” “cultural marxism,” and child “grooming.”; Paul Pelosi’s Alleged Attacker Raged About ‘Pedos,’ Shared QAnon Beliefs David DePape had been blogging for at least 15 years, with his views growing more extreme over time, an analysis by Rolling Stone found. DAVID DEPAPE, THE man now charged with attempted homicide and a raft of other felonies for allegedly attacking Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with a hammer in the couple’s San Francisco home early this morning, has a long history of sharing extreme ideas online, including several conspiracy theories popular among far-right conservatives. At the time of his arrest on Friday, DePape, 42, maintained a subscription-model blog where he vented rage over Covid-19 precautions and espoused beliefs shared by the conspiracist QAnon movement. The page also includes dedicated sections for Holocaust denial, climate change denial, transphobia, racism, misogyny, voter fraud conspiracy theories, Second Amendment absolutism, screeds against groomers and “pedos,” and trashing actress Amber Heard, the ex-wife of Johnny Depp. DePape posted similar hard-right and conspiratorial content on his Facebook page, which the platform deleted on Friday.