David DePape radicalized by MAGA conspiracy theories attacks Paul Pelosi with hammer

At approximately 2:30 AM on October 28, 2022, David Wayne DePape, 42, breaks into the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Only her husband, Paul Pelosi, 82, is home. DePape enters through a back door and confronts Paul Pelosi, demanding to know where Nancy Pelosi is. When Paul Pelosi reaches a phone and calls 911, DePape attacks him with a hammer, fracturing his skull and requiring emergency surgery. DePape is subdued by police officers who arrive at the scene. In court and interviews, DePape admits he intended to take Speaker Pelosi hostage, interrogate her about "stolen elections," and if she didn't "tell the truth," break her kneecaps "so she'd have to be wheeled into Congress." DePape had spent months before the attack absorbing MAGA conspiracy theories — QAnon, Pizzagate, the Big Lie, antisemitic conspiracy theories — documented in extensive social media posts and blog entries. Following the attack, prominent right-wing figures including Roger Stone, Dinesh D'Souza, Steve Bannon, and Elon Musk spread disinformation suggesting the attack was a "false flag." DePape is convicted of federal charges on November 16, 2023 and sentenced to 30 years. In a subsequent state trial, he receives life in prison without the possibility of parole.