The reaction was almost immediate. Seemingly moments after reports of an attack on the husband of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, right-wing social media was filled with conspiracy theories blaming Democrats or claiming a false-flag operation.
But the truth is not so complicated. The attack on Paul Pelosi in his San Francisco home is the predictable outcome of outrageous right-wing hate-mongering. It is the latest example of threats to our democracy and, indeed, to a civilized society.
Given our political climate and the way Nancy Pelosi has been demonized in both mainstream and underground media, this is not surprising. According to initial reports, the perpetrator yelled, “Where’s Nancy?” during the attack — an eerie echo of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, when insurrectionists screamed, “Where are you Nancy? We’re looking for you!”
Such vitriol has now leaked from The People’s House to a private residence. An intruder attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer, resulting in a skull fracture and other injuries. He is expected to recover; whether our nation will similarly survive is a more pressing question.
Reports have described Pelosi’s alleged assailant — David DePape, who reportedly has a history of mental illness — as a militant right-winger. The evidence? His blog, in which he has echoed election falsehoods and conspiracy theories. The Wall Street Journal reported that DePape has “espoused extreme right-wing views on social media, including conspiracy theories about COVID-19.”
That an American could be radicalized to the extent that they would attack a stranger with a hammer should be unconscionable. That one would seek to murder a political leader should be preposterous. Yet we are left with a dreaded sense of inevitability.
From 2017 to 2021, threats against members of Congress investigated by U.S. Capitol Police increased by 144 percent, according to Axios. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, has been harassed by a man who showed up repeatedly outside her home, armed with a handgun. And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has been the target of an endless string of harassment and threats.
For example, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., has tweeted an anime video of himself appearing to kill Ocasio-Cortez. And last week, an online editorial headline in the New York Post was altered to read, “We must assassinate AOC for America.” Officials at the paper said they fired a rogue employee who had changed the original headline.
Political violence is not limited to conservatives. In 2017, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot by an assailant described as an anti-Trump domestic terrorist. And Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has reported having a window in her home smashed.
But an acquiescence to political violence is increasingly endemic to the far right. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a shameful political opportunist during the best of times, is among those who have tried to obfuscate the facts surrounding the attack on Paul Pelosi. And as information about the attack was filtering out Friday, a Fox News commentator said: “If we have a situation where this is politically motivated, you have to step back and say: why is our country so divided?”
The fact is that such divisions have been perpetuated and exploited by right-wing media, with Fox News wielding the largest megaphone.
An attack on any citizen in their home is disturbing. A politically motivated one is particularly alarming. But we should not pretend that we don’t understand what has created the climate in which it occurs.
