Analyst: Pelosi attacker spurred by right-wing media
STORY: The suspect in the Pelosi attack told police in an interview following his arrest that he planned to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage for questioning, and that if she told the "truth" he would let her go but if she "lied" he would break "her kneecaps," according to the FBI affidavit.
An internet user with the same name as the suspect expressed support for former President Donald Trump and embraced the cult-like conspiracy theory QAnon in online posts.
Katz, the founder and executive director of the SITE Intelligence Group, said that the barring of people with radical views from mainstream social media has pushed them into unregulated communities that further radicalize them.
“That's going to be leading to a more radical community that calls for violence, where you feel pretty much a… existential threat and you feel that you have to act on that,” she said.
Katz added that even though the attack on Speaker Pelosi had seemingly failed, it "really didn't fail, because for them, it is, some somebody acted on it and there will be others that will try to act on, whether it's Pelosi or other targets of these conspiracy theories.”
David Wayne DePape's alleged intentions emerged as federal prosecutors charged the 42-year-old suspect with assault and attempted kidnapping in Friday's (October 28) predawn break-in at the Pelosis' San Francisco home.
