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David DePape, the suspect who allegedly attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul with a hammer at the couple’s San Francisco home on Friday, reportedly had a list of other people he wanted to target, law enforcement confirmed to CBS News. Officers briefed on the investigation could not identify the people named, but said they would not go so far as to call it a “hit list”. Earlier, Mr. DePape’s ex-partner described the man with whom she raised two sons as “mentally ill for a long time,” according to ABC 7. Gypsy Taub, who called the news station from the California Foundation for Women Friday night, described an incident from their time together in which she disappeared for a year. “He came back in a very bad state. He thought it was Jesus. He was constantly paranoid, thinking people were after him,” said Taub, who divorced DePape seven years ago. Elsewhere, new Twitter boss Elon Musk was heavily criticized and forced to delete a baseless conspiracy theory about the attack, tweeting “there’s a small chance there’s more to this story than meets the eye” . He made the post while sharing an article that claimed, without evidence, that the Speaker of the House’s husband met his attacker at a gay bar.
What we know so far
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Fox News Defends Elon Musk’s Conspiracy Tweet
The Fox & Friends hosts addressed Elon Musk’s tweet, which was later deleted by Twitter’s new owner, in which he appeared to support an unfounded conspiracy theory about the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul last week. Host Ainsley Earhardt defended the Tesla founder’s tweet as first reported by Mediaite as “free speech,” while Steve Doocy introduced the story by saying how, “Elon Musk made people on the political left have their heads explode.” “He took out the tweet. The San Francisco cops came out and said it was clearly a burglary.” “But people on the left and the New York Times this morning are saying, ‘Hey, the guy in charge of Twitter is spreading misinformation,’” he added, before posing the question to Ms. Earhart: “What is the future of Twitter as the Ainsley?’ “Well, all these celebrities and all of us should encourage free speech,” he replied, before turning to make the story about “Big Tech” and censorship. “And we shouldn’t encourage censorship and control as long as it doesn’t lead to violence.” Johanna Chisholm31 October 2022 16:07 1667231137
Don Jr continues to post ‘dangerous’, ‘homophobic’ memes mocking Paul Pelosi’s hammer attack
Donald Trump Jr. took to Instagram and Twitter first thing Monday morning to continue mocking Paul Pelosi’s attack by sharing several memes that critics decried as “dangerous” and “homophobic.” In one of the most recent posts shared by the former president’s son, he shared an altered South Park screenshot that showed two men having sex with a hammer next to the bed, with one of the men saying in a word bubble: “Oh yes, officer, I’m under attack.” “Dear Checkers, this has absolutely nothing to do with anything going on in the news and I’m just posting a cartoon of what appears to be an altered scene from South Park,” Trump Jr. wrote in the caption. Online, critics were quick to decry his various memes mocking the attack on Mr Pelosi as “dangerous” and “homophobic”. “How long have you been homophobic?” One Twitter user responded to his post, while another called the posts “dangerous”. “Hey @GOPChairwoman & @GOP, tell us again how your party never promotes hate or dangerous rhetoric. Divisive, violent people,” another observer tweeted, while sharing a link to an article about Mr Trump Jr sharing a meme about a Halloween costume mocking the attack. Get the latest details here. Johanna Chisholm31 October 2022 15:45 1667228737
Democratic lawmaker says attack on Pelosi highlights ‘threat of political violence fueled by conspiracy theories’
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said the attack on Paul Pelosi highlights “the threat of political violence fueled by conspiracy theories and propaganda and hate speech.” In an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, the California lawmaker discussed the dangers facing his colleagues in Washington, particularly ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections. It appears “that this was aimed at Pelosi,” he began. “What we must respond to is the threat of political violence fueled by conspiracy theories and propaganda and hate speech on social media and in our democracy.” Watch the full clip below. Johanna Chisholm31 October 2022 15:05 1667226637
David DePape’s ex-partner, suspected of attacking Paul Pelosi, apologizes and says he was ‘mentally ill for a long time’
David DePape, the man suspected of attacking Nancy Pelosi’s husband, was “mentally ill for a long time” before the attack, his ex-partner has claimed. “He is mentally ill. He was mentally ill for a long time,” said Gypsy Taub, who called the news station from the California Foundation for Women in Corona, Calif., Friday night. The woman, who claimed to be Mr. DePape’s former life partner and the mother of his children, is a well-known nudist activist in San Francisco, according to the news outlet. The couple met 20 years ago and raised their two sons and Taub’s daughter before officially parting ways seven years ago, he said. Read all the details of the Independent interview below. Johanna Chisholm31 October 2022 14:30 1667224837
Donald Trump Jr slammed for ‘sick and dangerous’ post mocking Paul Pelosi’s hammer attack
Donald Trump Jr. was celebrated by the far right, and condemned everywhere else, for sharing a meme about attacking Nancy Pelosi’s husband. The self-proclaimed “meme wars strategist” shared the controversial post on his personal Instagram account on Sunday night, just two days after Paul Pelosi, 82, had to undergo surgery following an attack at the couple’s San Francisco home by hammer. handled intruder. “One of the worst things is people like Donald Trump Jr. now mocking 82 year old Paul Pelosi after he was beaten with a hammer by a MAGA terrorist,” tweeted Dean Obeidallah, an American attorney and host of The Dean Obeidallah radio show. Show. Continue reading more about Mr Trump Jr’s viral meme in The Independent’s report here. Johanna Chisholm31 October 2022 14:00 1667223000
Republicans respond to Paul Pelosi’s attack with derision and honesty
A wide range of reactions from the Democratic Party to the violent attack on the husband of President Nancy Pelosi at their home shows the deep fractures that remain throughout the Republican Party. Adding to the complexity of the matter are new reports suggesting that the suspect involved in the attack was a follower of right-wing conspiracy theories, leading many who propagate and embrace such fancies to dismiss the incident as a hoax or “false flag” event. In Washington, congressional leaders responded with the typical shock and outrage one would expect members of the House and Senate to show after a violent attack that clearly targeted one of their own. “Horrified and disgusted by reports that Paul Pelosi was attacked at his and Speaker Pelosi’s home last night,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote Friday. “Thankful to hear that Paul is on track for a full recovery and that law enforcement, including the stellar Capitol Police, is on the case.” The Independent’s John Bowden has the full story: Johanna Chisholm31 October 2022 13:30 1667221200
Elon Musk Shares Terrible Conspiracy Theory About Attacking Paul Pelosi in Response to Hillary Clinton
Elon Musk shared a crass, baseless conspiracy theory on Twitter about what happened the night of the violent hammer attack on Paul Pelosi — just days after he took over the social media platform with a promise to crack down on content moderation. On Saturday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hit out at members of the Republican Party for spreading “hateful and deranged conspiracy theories” after it was revealed that Mr Pelosi’s alleged assailant had spewed far-right conspiracies online before Friday’s attack. Musk, who completed the acquisition of the social media platform on Thursday, hit back at Mrs Clinton on Sunday by promoting a conspiracy theory to his 112 million followers that the attack that left the 82-year-old hospitalized with serious injuries was not what it seemed. . “There is a small possibility that there is more to this story than meets the eye,” he wrote. The Twitter and Tesla boss offered no explanation for his comments, simply sharing a link to an article which claimed – without any evidence – that Mr Pelosi was drunk and met the alleged assailant at a gay bar. But by early Sunday afternoon, Mr Musk appeared to have a change of heart and had deleted the tweet. The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story: Johanna Chisholm31 October 2022 13:00 1667219739
David DePape had a list of other potential targets, law enforcement officials confirmed
David DePape, the suspect involved in the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, reportedly had a list of people he wanted to target in addition to the speaker of the House, law enforcement officials confirmed to CBS News. The sources told the news agency they would not go so far as to call the list a “hit list”, but said they suspected the 42-year-old may be planning more attacks on other people. The sources briefed on the investigation did not identify the other people on the list. Johanna Chisholm31 October 2022 12:35 1667217613
